Hunters
by PhantomFox24
Summary: Yugi Mutou thought that his life was about as weird as it could get when he solved the Millennium Puzzle and freed the ancient spirit locked within it. When he finds out that his family is being stalked by an old enemy, however, Yugi learns that there's more to his family, and his father's mysterious death, than he ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters, nor do I own Supernatural or its' characters. This is a work of fanfiction. I am attempting to keep the characters as close to their canon portrayals as possible.**

 **This story is set in a mixture of the manga verse and the dub universe. I will be using the anglicized names for Yugi's friends, and Domino City will be located in the United States as this is a Supernatural Crossover. Yugi is still of Japanese descent, with his father and grandfather being Japanese immigrants to the U.S. and his mother being a natural born American citizen. I realize that it is canon that Yugi's father is supposedly away on business most of the time but, for my purposes, he will be deceased. The family business, you see.**

 **The story itself takes place sometime after Battle City and will noticeably diverge from the actual storyline. This is my very first fanfiction so I hope you enjoy and will offer some constructive criticism. I feel like some parts of it may ramble a little so I'm trying to keep that to a minimum while still giving a sense of the characters' thoughts and feelings at any given time.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

It was a day like any other in the city of Domino, gaming capital of the world. The sun was shining, and the streets bustled with locals and tourists alike enjoying the pleasant weather.

Yugi longed to be outside as he gazed out the window of his Chemistry class. He was prone, much to the frustration of his teachers, to space out in class during lessons. However, he was a generally quiet and good-natured boy, so most teachers were inclined to gently encourage him to bring his attention back to the class with minimal embarrassment. Unfortunately for Yugi, though, the substitute for his Chemistry teacher was not so forgiving. The man in question, Mr. Frankford was, for lack of a better description, lacking in most of the best qualities a person can possess, being both temperamental and cruel. Disappointment and disillusionment in his own life had helped make him a rather hard man, though he couldn't have been much more than 40 himself.

The sudden and deafening slapping of a ruler on Yugi's desk brought the young man back to reality with a start. His wide amethyst eyes shot up to the towering Mr. Frankford with a hint of fear, and no small amount of embarrassment. The scowl on the substitute's face told Yugi immediately that he had made a mistake in letting his mind wander in the man's presence. It wasn't that he had intended to do so, mind you. Yugi was a generally respectful young man and he did care, at least somewhat, about his grade. Sadly, he found it quite difficult to focus in lectures and Mr. Frankford's voice was so monotone at times that it might put even the most dedicated students to sleep.

"What is your name, young man?" Mr. Frankford asked icily.

Yugi stood quickly and stiffly, mumbling incoherently. While recent events in Yugi's life had given him a great deal more confidence than he had once possessed, he still sometimes found himself exceptionally anxious, retreating into his shell when faced with embarrassment. With the eyes of every single person in his class on him, this was one of those times. Yugi felt his face heat up and he was certain he was now sporting an impressive blush. He desperately wished he had even one friend in this class, but the members of his small group of friends were all in different classes this period, making it impossible for them to offer any comfort or aid to him. It was a lonely feeling, needing to see a friendly face and finding none.

When Mr. Frankford's scowl deepened, Yugi cleared his throat and instinctively clasped the heavy golden pendant he wore around his neck. A wave of comfort washed over him and he spoke up more clearly this time, though his voice was still very quiet and he stumbled over his own name.

"Yu-Yugi Mutou, sir," he answered.

Mr. Frankford studied the young man before him carefully. The boy, he thought, looked like he might fly away with a strong gust of wind. His face was beet-red and he had the look of a wide-eyed deer ready to flee from danger. He was, for all intents and purposes, a wimp with strange, multicolored hair.

Mr. Frankford disliked the boy immediately.

"You don't seem to take your studies very seriously, Mr. Mutou. I can't imagine you'll get very far in life with your head in the clouds all day."

Yugi blanched at the words. Yugi knew his grades were not what they could be and, despite his success and genius when it came to gaming, he was more than a little shamed by his lacking grade average. Mr. Frankford, seeing on Yugi's face that he had hit a sensitive spot, pressed the issue further. "A boy like _you_ really can't afford to be spacing out in the classroom, can he?"

Frankford was being intentionally unkind now, picking at what he was sure would be a sensitive spot for a young man of small stature who possessed a shy disposition. Though his face did not show it, the older man was enjoying picking on this runt of a student who seemed, at least to the substitute teacher, to have very little going for him. The kid was unusually short, and seemingly very timid. The world would eat him alive.

Yugi's heart sank as the older man's words sunk in, causing him to want to do nothing more than to hide under a blanket in his bed for the rest of the day. At the same time, however, he felt something stirring at the back of his mind. His other self, or rather, his good friend who he had come to refer to as Yami for lack of a better name, was stirred from his slumber-like state by the discomfort and embarrassment now radiating from little Yugi. The ancient Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, which Yugi wore around his neck, was none too pleased to find that someone was causing Yugi distress.

A low, almost feral growl echoed in the back of Yugi's mind. He could feel Yami's irritation at the substitute teacherm and he felt the spirit of his friend bubble up alongside his own, offering support and righteous indignation for his current situation.

Yugi knew Yami would take control in a heartbeat, if he allowed him to do so, but Yugi did his best to reassure his friend that it wasn't necessary. Yami, being much like a protective older brother, would likely say or do something Yugi would regret and it would very possibly result in harsher consequences in the long run. Yami could be particularly harsh and aggressive with anyone who he felt was treating Yugi unfairly. It was better, Yugi thought, to let Mr. Frankford say whatever is was he felt he needed to say, and then be on with his life. After all, it wasn't the first time Yugi had been embarrassed like this and he doubted it would be the last.

Yugi, with his eyes downcast, accepted the berating words of the teacher with no argument. He could feel the frustration Yami felt at simply watching this scene unfold, however, he had promised not to take control of Yugi's body without permission. Though Yami's anger was quickly growing at the cruel words of Mr. Frankford, he understood that Yugi did have his reasons for not unleashing his wrath upon random people.

Even if those people deserved a good Dark Game.

Yami sighed internally and turned his attention back to his young friend.

 _ **/Do not let his words bother you, young one. He knows nothing of you and is unworthy of your notice./**_

Yugi felt his spirit lift somewhat at his companion's words. Yami always had a way of bolstering Yugi's timid spirit. The small teen, while very good natured and brave when it came to protecting his loved ones, undervalued himself immensely and rarely stood up for himself.

Yugi was glad that, even if he did not have his other friends with him, Yami was always by his side. It was odd to think that his closest friend was an amnesiac Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh who had somehow managed to trap his own soul in a tiny puzzle, but then, he supposed, life could take some unexpected turns. He imagined Yami never foresaw this particular turn when he was alive, either.

"Detention, Mr. Mutou. After school." Yugi snapped back to attention at those words and his heart clenched with the feeling of being unjustly punished, but he sighed and nodded.

 _ **/Asshole. Let me game him./**_

 _/Nope. Not worth it. He isn't very nice but he doesn't deserve a Shadow Game for not being nice./_

The only response from Yami was a snort of derision. Clearly, Yami felt that being unkind to Yugi was more than enough justification.

Mr. Frankford, seeming to have finally lost his interest in harassing the young teen, returned to his lecturing, and Yugi did his best to at least pretend to pay attention. He sensed, rather than heard, Yami's sigh of frustration. He couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy for his friend. Yami was, after all, another human being and he was rather unceremoniously forced to take up residence in Yugi's body. Yami had little to no autonomy and Yugi knew that fact grated on the Spirit. Yami had proven to be a bold and confident person of action, yet he was unable to act as he wanted due to his respect for Yugi's wishes and his shared body.

Yami was completely dependent upon Yugi for his very existence. He was exceptionally grateful to Yugi for allowing him to exist, mind you. When he assembled the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi had freed Yami from the shadows that had surrounded him for time beyond memory. Yami had devoted himself to keeping Yugi safe from then on, though he had caused quite a bit of harm in the early days after he first awakened. In fact, Yugi had been unaware of Yami's presence for some time and had not known of many of the Spirit's actions, though the blank patches of his memory had worried him to no end.

Things were much different now, however. Yugi and Yami coexisted alongside each other without issue most of the time, and had become close friends. They worked together to handle the multitude of dangers and issues that seemed to haunt the bearer of the Millennium Puzzle.

The bell rang, signaling that it was, much to Yugi's relief, time for lunch. Yugi swiftly shoved his book and notebook into his bag and was one of the first to slip out the classroom door. He wouldn't risk catching Mr. Frankford's attention again.

"Yugi!"

The familiar voice of his childhood friend, Tea, caused Yugi to pause in his path. A larger boy bumped into him roughly, with an exclamation of "Watch it!" nearly knocking the much smaller Yugi to the ground.

"S-sorry!" Yugi stammered as he did his best to navigate the now busy hallway to the side of his friend and crush. Tea was a very pretty brunette girl with bright blue eyes and a confident, if somewhat pushy, demeanor. She smiled warmly at Yugi, taking in his rather harried appearance. Yugi, who stood several inches shorter than her, seemed out of sorts today and she wondered what had caused the downcast look in his eyes.

She hated to see that look on his face. It didn't happen much anymore since Yugi had solved the Puzzle. The overwhelming confidence and pride of the Spirit within the Puzzle had rubbed off somewhat on Yugi and, while he was still a shy and gentle young man, she had delighted in watching him emerge from his shell to interact more with others.

Not having the words but sensing that Yugi needed some support, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and pretended not to notice his slight and sudden blush at the contact. He was entirely too adorable, and she smiled inwardly.

"Come on, Yugi. Let's meet Joey and Tristan for lunch. My treat today!"

Yugi beamed at her, nodding affirmatively, all thoughts of his earlier encounter with the unpleasant teacher having left his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Supernatural, or any of the characters therein.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Yugi's spirit was further lifted as he enjoyed lunch with Tea and their good friends, Joey and Tristan. Both boys were much larger than Yugi and had once bullied him before an incident with a much greater bully had brought them together. Now, they were quite inseparable.

Yugi chuckled as Joey and Tristan argued over who had dibs on a bag of chips Yugi did not want. The argument was brought to an abrupt end when Yami, who had been watching with amusement, decided that _he_ wanted the chips. He had slipped into control of Yugi's body without anyone noticing, and had made it half way through the bag before Joey noticed what was happening.

"Yuge! I thought you said you didn't want –"

Joey's words trailed off when he registered the subtle changes to the boy before him that signaled the arrival of his other soul. Somehow, inexplicably, Yugi appeared taller, though he was still a bit shorter than Tristan or Joey. His posture was much straighter, and he had a decidedly regal air about him. His face appeared older, more exotic and angular, having lost the innocent roundness that made Yugi look much like a child, although they were in high school. The most striking difference, however, was his eyes. Where before his eyes had been gentle and a bright amethyst color, they were now sharper, and of a dangerous garnet hue. Joey couldn't help but think that neither eye color was particularly normal, but he found the red to be mildly disturbing.

A few years ago, he'd have laughed at the idea that there were things like ghosts and spirits in the world. Considering that his best friend was periodically possessed by the Spirit of an ancient pharaoh, however, Joey had become a bit more open-minded. He sometimes wondered how many other legends and myths really did exist in the world.

Yami quirked a single eyebrow and smirked as he brought another chip to his mouth with a crunch. Tea and Tristan were watching him now, as well, having finally realized that the two souls had switched at some point. Tea offered a timid smile, acknowledging Yami's presence. Tristan chose not to say anything in particular. He generally preferred to pretend not to notice when Yugi changed.

Yami chuckled, a deep rumbling sound reverberating in his chest and sounded nothing like the voice of Yugi. Tea couldn't help but blush a little. She always found herself a little enamored with the Spirit of the Puzzle on the occasions when he made an appearance. She was the first to realize, after all, that there was another side to Yugi. Even now, she was the only one who really acknowledged the pharaoh as a separate entity. Joey and Tristan, while they realized another soul was inhabiting Yugi's body, still referred to him as Yugi, or Yuge, no matter who was in control. She thought maybe this was an attempt on their part to normalize the seemingly insane and decidedly supernatural events going on around them.

Gracefully, Yami offered the open bag of chips to Joey, the smirk still etched on his face. Joey barked with sudden laughter, "Hey! I was gonna eat those!" Joey's face settled into a comical sort of pout, causing those gathered around to laugh at his antics.

Yami grinned now as well. "So sorry, Joey. I just realized I had never tried…what is this? Dill pickle flavored? I was curious. What is a dill pickle, anyway?"

Tristan piped up a this, "Seriously, never had dill pickle chips? Or a dill pickle? We need to get you out more often."

"Oh, I'm not sure I was really missing anything this time." Yami replied, twisting his expression into one of distaste. It still seemed odd to the others that Yugi's voice could change so dramatically when Yami was in control, but, then again, that was far from the strangest thing to happen to them since Yugi solved the Puzzle.

Joey gasped at this, "What? No way, man. Dill pickle chips are where it's at. They make the sun rise in the morning, I tell ya."

Yami shook his head, causing his blonde bangs to sway gently, "No, I think you're mistaken, Joey. Nacho cheese. Cheese is what makes the sun rise in the morning."

Tea giggled. Though Yami's face showed no change and his voice remained even and serious, he was joking with them. She couldn't help but enjoy the rare moment with their more serious friend. Yami almost never came out unless there was some sort of danger or unless he was asked, suddenly, to take control by Yugi, which she assumed is what had happened this time. Yugi liked to periodically introduce Yami to new things and experiences, even if it was just some random chips he hadn't tried before. It had led to more than a few interesting situations in which the Pharaoh had been suddenly thrown into new situations.

With the chips finished, Yami wiped his hands neatly on a napkin. Another difference, the friends noted. Yugi would have simply wiped the grease on his pants and called it a day without a thought.

Yami's scarlet eyes smiled slightly, softening as he took in the group sitting around him. It was pleasant, he thought, to feel like part of a group of friends. He would not, however, steal anymore time from Yugi, even though the younger soul had directly asked him to take over. Yami could not shake the feeling that anytime he took over, he was taking time away from what should be Yugi's time and life. He had to remind himself that he was, in fact, long dead, and he did not have the right to claim control of the shared body for longer than was necessary to keep Yugi safe.

Yugi had sensed such sentiments from Yami before and had assured him that he did not mind. He was glad to have his friend with him. He was glad to show Yami new things and he did not mind sharing his body with the soul of someone he had come to consider a brother. Yami knew Yugi meant every word of it, too, because it was Yugi. There was almost certainly no purer and kinder soul in the world.

That Yugi was willing to share even an ounce of time and life with Yami was something he considered a great blessing: one he would not dare to misuse. He refused to take advantage of Yugi like the cruel Spirit of the Millennium Ring took advantage of their friend, Ryou Bakura.

With that troubling thought, Yami suddenly relinquished control of the shared body back to Yugi, who blinked with slight surprise. The others started somewhat as well, having noticed the far-away look that had crossed Yami's face before he had closed his eyes and let go. It was a strange, almost lonely sight to behold. That look had left each of the friends with a hollow sort of feeling that they could not quite understand.

 _/Why the sudden departure, Yami?/_ Yugi gently prodded his friend. While he did not wish to be intrusive, he had hoped Yami might spend a little more time enjoying himself. The Spirit was too isolated, spending so much of his time hidden away in the Puzzle.

Yugi couldn't help but feel sadness for his friend. Yami could not truly belong with them. He was a Spirit, Yugi knew that. He knew Yami was dead, that thousands of years separated them now from any semblance of the life he must have once led. Yami couldn't remember that life, though. He had nothing to hold onto beyond the memories of the past few years with Yugi and his friends. For a spirit who had existed for multiple millennia, Yami was largely a blank slate. He hid it well, even through the spiritual and mental link he and Yugi shared, but Yugi could sometimes sense and intense loneliness and grief from his brother spirit that left him with an inexplicable knot in his chest.

He wanted to help, but he didn't know how.

It took Yami a few moments to properly respond to Yugi's inquiry. _**/What do you mean, Yugi? I was finished. I tried the chips. I do not think I want to try them again, though. They made my face hurt./**_

Yami could sense Yugi's eyeroll. _/Alright, but you know you can spend time with them. They're your friends, too. They care about you just like I do and, honestly, I am a little worried about you./_

 _ **/Thank you, Yugi, but you do not need to worry yourself with me. I'm fine. I was just finished, truly, and your school is so loud./**_

 _/Yami, we literally share a mind or soul or whatever you want to call it. That's horseshit. I won't push you, but please, consider letting yourself, you know, enjoy existing./_

Yami chuckled at Yugi's unexpected usage of foul language. Joey's influence, he supposed. _**/Alright, partner./**_

Yugi felt a sense of reassurance wash over him as Yami retreated into the Puzzle. Yugi could not sense Yami's thoughts and feelings so well when his spirit returned to its small prison but the teen hoped that Yami would take his words seriously and consider lightening up a little bit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Supernatural, or any of the characters. If I did, I'd probably be on vacation somewhere more exotic and exciting right now.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Yami returned to the Puzzle with a hollow sense in his heart. He had not meant to worry Yugi, but he felt more trapped with each passing day. He had the strange sense of having existed a very long time. The years seemed to stretch behind him for an eternity, but there was no story to go with that time spent. His time in the Puzzle, before Yugi assembled it, had been marked by darkness and pain. He had spent so long in dark nothingness that he had come to believe he was nothing, too, and the shadows had been ever present there. They taunted him and bit at his soul. For a long time, it had seemed like the darkness had swallowed him up and he lost all sense of himself. The memory of nothingness still caused his heart to quake. How long, he wondered, would he have stayed that way, lost to the darkness had Yugi not rescued him? What crime against the gods could he have committed to warrant being held indefinitely in the shadows?

When he tried to remember his past, he was only rewarded with brief flashes of what must have been his life: the heat of the desert sun on his skin, the feel of fine sand beneath his feet. Sometimes, he felt the comfort of a hand on his shoulder, though he couldn't recall faces or names, and, as always, when he tried to look too hard, there was grief. It was an old grief that he could no longer remember but it was there, somewhere, still buried in his soul. With that grief came regret and pain. He always stopped looking then, as if his soul rebelled against memory.

As a result, Yami only had memories of the past few years, and those memories, while mostly happy, were still bittersweet in their own way. Those years were marred with fear and confusion. His very presence had brought suffering to his dearest friend and he blamed himself. He wondered sometimes why Yugi kept the Puzzle. Anyone else might have shattered the thing, sending him spiraling back into the pits of hell, for all the trouble it had caused. Not Yugi, though. Abandoning anyone to the darkness like that went against everything Yugi was. In fact, the Puzzle had been shattered once by an enemy.

At that time, Yami found himself in sudden agony, as though his heart had been ripped into shreds and scattered to the corners of the earth. He had felt the darkness creep upon him, had heard the hissing of the shadows once more and the pain of their claws upon his soul as his mind broke. But then, just like the first time, Yugi had plucked his shattered heart from the darkness and reassembled it, piece by piece. He had risked his own life to do so, braving fire and death. Yami felt both immense guilt and gratitude to his young friend for his heroic act. Yami knew that, if Yugi ever abandoned him, that would be the end for him. He did not imagine that his soul would survive long in the shadows after having tasted of the light once more. There would be no repeat of the sensation of death that he vaguely recalled, no returning to the world as a Spirit, or even a proper afterlife. He would end.

The Shadows both hated him, wishing to torment him immensely, and, at the same time, seemed to desire him. He felt that they would absorb him, if they could. He wasn't entirely sure they hadn't nearly succeeded before. The sight of light once more had driven him nearly mad when he first awoke. He had done terrible, mad things to those he perceived as enemies in the beginning.

Yami sighed, shaking himself of his dark musings. It was not useful to dwell on such things and he worried that Yugi would sense his lingering fear if he did not focus on less painful memories. So, Yami, within his Puzzle and prison, turned his mind to the game he and Yugi both loved. Duel Monsters had provided Yami with a wonderful distraction, and he spent several hours mulling over new ideas and strategies for their next game. He couldn't help but think it'd be fun to someday play a game against Yugi, instead of playing as though they were one person, but that seemed really quite impossible now with their minds and souls so closely linked.

Then, he felt Yugi's pull on his soul. His young friend was calling to him.

Yugi, having just arrived at his detention, felt the need for reassurance. Mr. Frankford had been so unkind before that Yugi was relieved when he felt Yami's mind brush up against his own, curiously.

 _ **/What's wrong? Oh. Grand./**_ Displeasure coated Yami's thoughts as he took in the sight before him. Mr. Frankford had decided that Yugi's punishment would be to shine all the trophies he could during his hour-long detention. Domino High School had quite a large collection of trophies. The man sat nearby with a smug and contemptuous look on his face. He really did hate weak little kids like this Yugi brat.

 _/Yeah, mind keeping me company while I work?/_

 _ **/This punishment grossly outweighs the minor crime of daydreaming, Yugi./**_ Yami growled, his anger boiling up again. Yugi simply felt better having someone become angry on his behalf. He, too, felt a bit misused, but it was always nice to have an ally.

The time passed quickly enough, as it often does when one's hands are busy. It helped that Yami had chosen to entertain Yugi by calling Mr. Frankford all of the dirty words that he had learned from Joey and Tristan, and, much to Yugi's amusement, a few creative insults he had come up with on his own.

Finally, after the passing of an hour, Yugi prepared to make the trek home. Walking through the abandoned school hallways, the teen felt a sudden sense of unease. He could not shake the strange sense that he was being watched. It was as though someone was staring at him from behind, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. He thought he heard footsteps behind him as he made his way towards his locker. When Yugi stopped abruptly, whirling around to inspect the hallway behind him, however, no one was there.

Then, a strange scent that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once caused Yugi to nearly vomit. It smelled something like rotten eggs and Yugi had to cover his nose and mouth to keep from breathing it any more than necessary.

 _ **/Sulfur./**_

 _/Yami, something doesn't feel right here./_

 _ **/Yes, I feel it, too. I don't think we are alone here. Go. Go now, Yugi. Get your things later./**_

The words of the Spirit were enough to prompt Yugi to break into a sprint down the hall, and he raced as quickly as his legs would carry him out the building, only stopping when he reached the school gates. He turned to look back at the entrance to the school. There was no movement or sound from the building. It was eerily quiet and Yugi shuddered.

The pharaoh was seriously considering taking control from Yugi for a short while, just in case, when a hand reached from behind Yugi and patted his shoulder, causing the teen to let out a yelp of terror. Yugi had begun to run in a panic, but stopped as the laughter of his friends reached his ears. His knees were shaking horribly, and the terrified look in his eyes as he turned to see Joey and Tristan quickly caused the two boys to cease their laughing fit.

"Yuge, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Joey inquired, placing a steadying hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"You okay, buddy?" Tristan echoed Joey's concern.

Yugi's throat was dry and his voice shook when he finally answered his friends. "I-I'm okay. I think I just freaked myself out a little bit in there. The school is creepy after hours." The smaller boy glanced back over his shoulder nervously.

Joey snorted, "Yeah, no kidding, man. But, hey, we figured we'd wait for you and walk home with you. Maybe hang out at the shop for a while, if that's alright."

Yugi nodded his agreement, feeling relieved to have someone to walk home with him. Things weren't nearly as frightening when he had his friends nearby. His fear abated somewhat, leaving him feeling a little tired and silly for having panicked so easily.

 _/Maybe I was just imagining things./_

 _ **/Maybe./**_ Yami's "voice" sounded thoughtful, as though he was considering what they had just experienced very carefully. The Spirit did not wish to further frighten Yugi, but he doubted that they had both imagined footsteps following them down the hall. More concerning, however, was that strange, sulfurous smell that had suddenly overwhelmed Yugi's senses. Something in the back of Yami's mind recognized that scent and it had made him immediately fearful.

As Joey wanted to see what kind of new cards Grandpa Mutou had gotten in at the Kame Game Shop, the trio made their way to Yugi's home. Sugoroku Mutou, a short, grey-haired older man, was busily sorting through new stock. He greeted the boys warmly as they entered the little game shop.

Joey wasted no time in helping the elderly man with some of the heavier boxes, (in the hopes that he would get first dibs on new cool cards), while Yugi slipped upstairs to the small flat that he lived in with his Grandpa and mother. He was surprised, however, to find that his mother was, in fact, home early today. This was a rarity, as she often worked late hours and weekends, and seemed to be away from home more often than not. He had given up on keeping tabs on her schedule a long time ago; he usually saw her for no more than a few minutes at a time in the early morning or late at night if he stayed up. Still, he was happy to see her and rushed to give her a hug.

Mrs. Melanie Mutou smiled sweetly at her son and ruffled his hair gently. "Hi, my sweet boy." She looked him over with an observant, if tired, eye. "My goodness, Yugi. I think you might be due for a haircut." She shook her head in exasperation, causing her short, brown hair to sway.

Yugi blushed slightly. His mother had, since he was a little boy, tried and failed to tame his wild locks. He wondered why she didn't give up on it by now. Wanting to change the subject, he blurted, "So what are you doing home, Mama?"

A strange, anxious expression flitted aross her features, making Yugi a bit uneasy. The boy's unease stirred the Pharaoh once more, and Yugi could feel the ancient Spirit's attention focusing in on the encounter. His mother seemed worried about something and Yugi couldn't imagine what that might be. She quickly covered the look up with a smile and patted Yugi's head again.

"I am going to be taking a little bit of vacation time, Yugi. I want to spend some time with you, you know? Have some fun as a family."

"Oh? Um, sure! That'd be great, mom!" Yugi beamed at her fondly. He hadn't expected this and was excited at the prospect of spending some more time with his mother. They had grown distant since he had entered high school. He realized then, with a twinge of guilt, that his mother knew next to nothing of the adventures and dangers he had faced, nor did she know he shared his body with an ancient Spirit. A revelation like that might end him up in a sanitarium.

He was keeping an awful lot of secrets from her, not that it could really be helped. He and his grandfather both agreed that it was probably best to keep quiet on the more harrowing details of his life. Yugi's father had passed away under somewhat mysterious circumstances when he was still small. His mother tended to shelter him from the world ever since then.

The conversation between the two quickly fizzled. Melanie asked her son a few polite questions about school and life, Yugi answered truthfully what he could and skirted around any details that might cause her to worry. He left out the part of his day in which he thought he was being followed, knowing that she would worry and ask more questions. Likewise, she had little to share about her own life with her son when he asked the customary response questions.

Feeling somewhat awkward around his mother and wondering when that had happened, Yugi grabbed a quick snack from their small kitchen and went to his room to change into some more comfortable clothes than his school uniform. He emerged from the room, wearing a slightly oversized t-shirt and a pair of jeans, his sneakers squeaking as he bounced down the stairs to the shop.

Mrs. Mutou waited until she was sure Yugi was well out of earshot before she pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number from memory.

The phone rang once, twice, three times, and she hung up. She dialed again, and waited for the call to be answered. The gruff male voice on the other end answered brusquely, "Who's this?"

She would have chuckled if her current situation hadn't already sapped any sort of humor out of her tired mind. "Bobby. It's me, Melanie."

A moment of silence ended with, "Why, little Melly! Damn, it's good to hear from you, girl. Ever since…but anyway, what's going on? You sound like hell."

Her voice broke slightly as she started and then stopped speaking, in an effort to explain her sudden call. Melanie paused a moment, steadying her voice, before trying again to speak.

"Bobby, listen to me. It's back. I thought for sure we were done with it but that…thing is back and it's in Domino."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Melanie let out a sigh of relief when she got off the phone with Bobby. Bobby was an experienced Hunter and an old family friend. He had always advised her well and never once had he let her down. Even now, after a decade, he offered her the safety and shelter of his own home for herself and her small family.

Their home, with its various wards and guards, was well protected but, eventually, Melanie knew the beast that had claimed her husband's life years ago would strike at her family while they were away from the safety of their home. She had already noticed a few telltale signs that indicated it was stalking her at work earlier that day and, for all she knew, it would go after Yugi at his school.

Melanie and her husband, Tadaaki Mutou, had been on what should have been a typical Hunting Trip ten years ago when disaster had struck. The creature, which was supposed to be a mere specter, a simple ghost, had been so much more than that. It was a powerful demon that the Mutou's encountered that night.

Her miscalculation of the danger they faced had cost her husband his life and had brought the ire of the creature down on herself and her family for weeks afterwards until she, with the help of Bobby and some friends, had managed to put an end to the monster. The demon had even gone after her young son, trying to possess him, though it was unsuccessful for reasons yet unknown.

They were safe for ten long years and Melanie had foolishly, begun to relax once more. Unfortunately, demons are difficult creatures to truly kill. They can be banished but there was always the danger that, with time, it could return and so it had, or, at least, she suspected it had. Two local Hunters had been killed already in the area trying to subdue the demon and the details of their deaths were painfully familiar.

Though Melanie had left the life after the death of her husband, she kept her eyes and ears open for any hints of danger. She had been raised by Hunters and she knew what was out there. Her husband, her sweet Tadaaki, had not been born into the world of Monster Hunting. His family had come to the United States from Japan when he was a child and they had lived a quiet life. Even so, when she had revealed to him what exactly the family business was, he had not fled from her side. Instead, he asked her to let him help her. She and Bobby had taught him how to handle and eradicate various beasties and ghosts. He had, surprisingly, had quite a knack for it. She supposed it was because of his undying desire to help and protect people. They had been some of the best Hunters in the region for a time.

However, when they were gifted with their only child, Yugi, the couple had become more cautious. They took on less dangerous jobs and stayed local, even considering getting out of the life completely for the safety of their young son. Somehow, that never happened. Neither of the Mutou's could easily ignore the evil going on in the world around them, and they continued their dangerous work in the hopes of making things better for their child.

If she had only known what awaited them that night, she'd have left the case alone. She'd have passed it along to some other, more reckless Hunters. Because of her, her husband was dead, and her son was left without a father at the tender age of six years.

She could never forgive herself for her failure, but she would not allow a similar fate to befall her son. She had cut herself off from the rest of her family and Bobby, painful though it was, fearing any connection to Hunters or anything supernatural. She took a simple, safe desk job at a local company. Her son would never know of what had truly happened to his father and he would be safe. He would not be trained as a warrior like she had been. Yugi would go to school and play games and enjoy his life.

She would not let the dark things of the world invade her son's life.

At least, that is what she told herself over the years. Given the return of the creature that had tried to end her little family ten years prior, she couldn't help but feel that she had failed in that endeavor. It looked like she was fated to be dragged back into the life and she feared what that might mean for her innocent boy.

Yugi would not be able to fight, she was sure. He was far too gentle for that kind of life. Yugi abhorred violence. How many times had he come home covered in bruises from bullies, refusing to stand up for himself and simply taking the beating? He wouldn't even tell her or Sugoroku who had attacked him.

She would not be able to hide this situation from Yugi for long, either, she knew. Her son was far from stupid and she felt that he would determine something was amiss before too long. Of course, she could not know how he would handle the news of demons and evil monsters lurking about. He had, after all, never encountered anything of the sort since the incident when he was little. She was unsure, however, it did not seem that Yugi had any memory of his early encounter with the supernatural.

The sounds of multiple people coming up the stairs to the flat brought her out of her thoughts. She would make plans to flee with her family as soon as possible and would explain more when they made it to Bobby's home where they would be safe for a time.

The door opened, letting in Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and grandpa Mutou. Melanie was surprised and pleased to find that Yugi had brought some male friends over. She had met Tea a few times over the years, but she had yet to meet Joey and Tristan. She had heard about them briefly but knew very little of them and was pleased to find that the other boys were real friends of her son's and not imaginary.

Yugi sheepishly introduced his friends to his mother for the first time, informing her that he had invited the other boys to stay for dinner with his grandfather's blessing. She had not expected company but accepted the news graciously, happy to have a chance to get to know her son's friends a little better.

"Any friends of Yugi are welcome here! It is so nice to finally meet you boys." She offered a genuine smile. Joey couldn't help but notice that she was really quite pretty, though he thought she looked a bit tired and stressed. The dark circles under her eyes gave that away immediately.

"Thanks so much, Mrs Mutou! We will help in the kitchen. Anything you need, Joey and Tristan are at your service!"

Tristan looked less than enthused at being volunteered for kitchen duty but Yugi nodded his agreement. Being the one usually responsible for meal prep in his family, Yugi was quite used to cooking and even looked forward to it.

After the meal, Yugi and Joey play a few rounds of Duel Monsters while the others watched on. Mrs. Mutou knew, of course, that her son was good at the game and held a title of some sort, but she had had little opportunity to really watch him play. She regretted that, suddenly, realizing that Yugi was exceptionally skilled at the game and that it was something he loved. She had been so wrapped up in her job in recent years, trying to rise in the ranks and make a better life for her family, that she had missed much of Yugi's daily life and interests.

Yugi drew a card and chuckled suddenly, bringing her attention back to their game, which was being played out on the coffee table before her. Her son's eyes had an excited glint to them she hadn't seen before.

"Sorry, Joey, but this is it. I play the card 'Soul Exchange' to take control of one of your monster, ''Red Eyes Black Dragon." Joey groaned, knowing what was coming but being unable to stop his inevitable defeat.

Yugi continued, "Next I sacrifice it and my own monster, 'Maho Vailo', alongside your 'Red Eyes Black Dragon' to summon my old friend, the 'Dark Magician!'" Melanie saw how Yugi's eyes lit up as he beheld this particular card. He was clearly very fond of it, though she had no idea why.

"You're wide open, game over. Direct attack to your life points."

Joey put his hands up in surrender. "I swear, Yuge, one of these days, I'm going to beat you." He looked at the clock on the wall, noticing the hour was swiftly approaching nine o'clock. He stretched and yawned, "Not tonight, though, buddy. I need to get home."

Yugi found himself yawning as well and stood to see his friends out, wishing them a goodnight. He locked up behind them and returned upstairs, with his mind on a shower and bed. However, he was stopped by his mother and grandfather, who bid him take a seat instead.

"Yugi," his mother began as she sat in the arm chair nearest him, "your grandfather and I have been talking. We were thinking it'd be great to take a trip together as a family. In fact, I have some family in South Dakota that you've never met."

Yugi's face betrayed his surprise at this news. His mother had never mentioned any family of hers. Ever. She had practically refused to talk about them when he was smaller. He thought it strange, of course, but that was how it had always been. She wouldn't talk about his father, either, after all. At some point he had stopped bothering to ask.

Sugoroku, seeing the confusion on his grandson's face, gave him a reassuring nod and continued where his mother had left off. "You see, your mother was thinking it would be a good time to make the trip to South Dakota so you can get to know some of your family on her side. I've never been, myself, so we thought it would be a nice family trip." Though his words were reassuring, something in the old man's mannerism seemed on-edge and worried.

Yugi nodded in agreement but stayed silent, feeling that something was very wrong but not being able to understand why. He could sense Yami was awake and listening in as well. The Spirit sensed the sudden tension in the room, echoing his host's confusion but not interrupting Yugi's thoughts with his questions.

"Anyway," Melanie interjected, "I know you still have a couple of weeks remaining before school lets out for the summer break, but I spoke with your principal today and they have agreed to allow you to take your exams early, in the next few days."

The boy jolted in surprise at that statement. "You want me to take my exams early so we can take a trip together? Is it really that important? Mom, you've never even spoken about family in South Dakota before." His tone was incredulous as the words left his mouth.

 _ **/Seems like a drastic step just to be able to go on a family trip…/**_ Yami spoke up, unable to hold his thoughts back any longer. His tone sounded concerned and suspicious. He was still on edge from the incident at the school that afternoon.

Both souls peered through Yugi's eyes this time, lending them a more intense look than was usual. Sugoroku noticed that they had caught the Puzzle Spirit's attention and the suspicion in Yugi's eyes concerned him. He gingerly took a seat beside his young grandson. He was grateful that the Spirit protected his grandson and was looking out for the boy, but he was not sure that any of them could protect Yugi from this danger and the elderly man worried what might happen if the Spirit revealed himself to Yugi's mother at this time. Sugoroku put a reassuring hand on Yugi's shoulder, meeting his gaze and willing them both to get the message. "It's going to be alright, Yugi, but this is very important. I know it's sudden, but I need you to trust us. Okay?"

Yugi and Yami both relented at those words. Sugoroku had more than earned Yami's trust and while Melanie was something of an unknown to the Spirit, he doubted the woman would ever bring her son to harm. Why was he so on edge about this? Was he being overly-protective because of the fright they had had earlier in the day?

 _/It's just a trip, right? It's not like we'll be gone all that long. Maybe someone's dying? I honestly just assumed most of mom's family was dead or something. She NEVER talks about any of them and I've never met anyone from her family./_

 _ **/Why don't they just say that?/**_

Yugi shook his head slightly, his eyes out of focus as he discussed the issue with Yami _. /I don't know. I don't know what's going on, but it looks like they aren't going to tell us more right now. It doesn't look like we have a whole lot of choice in this so it must be important, like grandpa said./_

The boy's eyes cleared as he refocused on his grandfather, who waiting patiently beside him while he finished his internal dialogue. "Okay, grandpa. I'm with you."

Sugoroku felt some of the tension ebb from the room with those words. "Alright, my boy. You should get some rest. You're going to have a busy couple of days ahead of you."

Yugi stood stiffly, glancing uncertainly at his mother and grandfather, before retreating down the hall to his bedroom and quietly shutting the door behind him

The old man shifted his attention to his daughter-in-law, who was now perched uneasily on one of the arm chairs. "I did not expect him to be so…resistant. He's never been like that before," she mumbled quietly.

Sugoroku chucked lightly, "Well, my dear, he isn't a little boy anymore. If you were sixteen and your parents asked you to go off on a trip without an explanation, you'd have had more than a few questions. I'd say that went rather well, all things considered. I hope this is the right decision."

Melanie Mutou stood quietly, "So do I." She shook her head, also disappearing down the hallway and into her own room.

Silent as a shadow, Melanie closed the door to the room she had shared with her husband years ago and threw herself on the bed, immediately missing the warmth of her husband beside her. She wished she had him with her now, more than ever. Their son seemed almost a stranger to her now and she could not help but feel some concern for the way his hand had clutched at the large pendant, the ancient puzzle, that hung from his neck, and the way his eyes seemed to harden as he did so.

"When did you finish that puzzle, Yugi?" she whispered to the still room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh or Supernatural. Bummer.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

In a startlingly few days, Yugi found himself on an airplane bound for Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He had no real desire to visit the state, knowing little about it and always having believed it to be remote and boring. If he had family there, though, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Still, his heart clenched for no reason. He found himself wishing that he could bring all of his friends with him for the trip. That was silly, of course, but he hated being away from his little group and was already missing their presence. There weren't very many people in the world who truly knew him.

Unconsciously, Yugi reached for the reassuring warmth of the Millennium Puzzle and relaxed some when he felt Yami waking.

 _ **/Are you alright, Yugi?/**_ The Spirit asked gently, feeling the way that Yugi was grasping for some sort of comfort.

 _/Dunno, I just can't shake the feeling that something is really off about all of this./_

 _ **/I know what you mean. There's very little to be done about it now, though. Either way, I am right here and it will be okay. Okay?/**_

The corner of Yugi's mouth turned up in a brief, half-hearted smile. _/Thanks, Yami. I'm glad you're with me./_

 _ **/Always, partner./**_

Yugi focused on the sky and world outside his window seat, letting his mind wander and giving Yami a chance, as well, to observe the world from the sky. The ancient king was more than a little awestruck by the expansive beauty of the land below and their conversation turned to happier musings until the younger spirit began to doze, leaving the body in control of Yami while he slept.

Within a few hours, Yami was nudging Yugi awake, alerting him to the fact that they were about to land at Sioux Falls Regional Airport. Yugi stretched and lightly elbowed his grandpa, who had fallen asleep in the seat beside him. His mother was already quite alert, though he noted that she had remained exceptionally quiet for most of the flight. In fact, she had been unnervingly quiet for several days, which did not help Yugi's anxiety. She had almost seemed to be studying him. Worse, at times he had noticed his own mother looking at him almost as if she were looking upon a stranger and it made his heart ache to think that he had grown so far from her.

They disembarked the plane, swiftly gathering their bags from the baggage claim. Mrs. Mutou looked around the airport, anxiously, searching for someone. Finally, her eyes landed on a familiar face, causing a wide grin to break across her face. Yugi had not seen his mother smile so brightly since he was child. It was startling but beautiful to behold and he found himself grinning as well.

"Bobby!" She exclaimed, making her way through the crowd with Yugi and her father-in-law in tow. A middle-aged man in a baseball cap turned towards her voice with a pleased expression on his face. His beard needed some tending and his plaid shirt was worn, but he looked a pleasant enough sort and his eyes widened when they fell on Yugi.

"Well, hell, Melly! Your boy's gone and grown up, himself!" He offered Yugi a handshake, which Yugi hesitantly took, noting the roughness of the proffered hand. He shook Sugoroku's hand as well before turning to Melanie Mutou, wrapping her in a bearhug that lifted her feet from the floor for a moment before releasing her.

 _ **/Well, they seem close, don't they?/**_

 _/Yeah…and I have no idea who he is. He seems nice, though, right?/_

"Yugi, you probably don't remember Bobby Singer. He's an old family friend. You would have met him when you were very small," his mother explained.

Yugi rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Um, I'm sorry, Mr. Singer. I don't really remember."

Bobby, not being the least bit surprised by this news, shrugged it off and grinned, "Nothing to apologize for, son, and let's not have all this Mr. Singer stuff. It's Bobby. You were just a little tike last time I blew through Domino. Offered to babysit you for a spell while your parents were, um, on a date. A real handful, you were!" Bobby laughed heartily at the memory.

The group chatted happily as they left the airport. Bobby brought them to a rundown old pickup truck that, while lacking in room, looked like it could potentially weather a nuclear explosion. The four did their best to squeeze into the single-cab truck, causing Yugi to, for once in his life, be thankful for his small size.

 _ **/You're not**_ **that** _ **short, you know. I think you're getting taller./**_

Which was true, in fact. Yugi had grown several inches but he had long since accepted that he would never be what one would consider a tall man. He'd be lucky to make it to average height by adulthood. He'd rejoice at being just average height, in fact. Maybe then Tea wouldn't have to look down when looking him in the eyes. Maybe, if he ever got up the courage to kiss her, he wouldn't have to stand on the tip of his toes to reach.

If he was lucky.

Yami couldn't help but chuckle at that last thought, though he chose to keep his comments to himself. He somehow doubted Tea would object half as much as Yugi feared if his young friend ever did build up enough courage to make a move, but Yugi would hear none of it. He'd already tried to convince him to go for it several times and the younger soul's shyness always got the better of him.

* * *

Bobby's home was rather worn and looked, from the outside, as if it could benefit from some general tender loving care, much like the man himself. However, it was spacious enough and comfortable inside. Much to Yugi's surprise, the home was surrounded by a junkyard filled with old cars and the like. A random feral cat skittered away as they pulled up the dirt road and parked.

Bobby had a surprising number of books that Yugi had never heard of before, but most seemed to focus on mythology, the paranormal, and history. Maybe later he would ask Bobby if he could take a look through his library. His mother had said they would probably stay in South Dakota for a couple of weeks, at least, so Yugi would need something to keep his mind occupied other than playing multiple rounds of chess and other games with the pharaoh.

Yugi had gathered during the ride to Bobby's house, which was isolated and well outside the city limits of Sioux Falls, that they would be staying with Bobby for the remainder of their trip. He wondered vaguely when they would meet the mysterious family members his mother had mentioned previously but no one was offering up the information and he had decided to keep the questions at the minimum for the time being, trusting that he wouldn't be left in the dark for too terribly long.

Bobby did mention something that night during dinner about some cousins of his mother's coming by within the next few days. He said the "boys" were currently on a hunting trip. Yugi was a little surprised to discover that his mom had cousins who hunted but he also figured a lot of people in more rural communities might enjoy that kind of pastime. His mother had seemed displeased at that news.

 _/I wonder what kind of people mom's…my…cousins are./_ Yugi laid down in his guestroom bed with a huff.

 _ **/I am sure they are good people, Yugi. They're related to you, aren't they? They can't be too bad./**_

 _/That is wildly optimistic of you, and the logic there might be flawed, but you're probably right. I don't know why but this whole situation is freaking me out. Mom is acting weird. Or, I think she is. I feel like I wouldn't know anymore./_

Yugi felt a ghostly hand press his shoulder comfortingly. _**/It is going to be alright. You should get some rest. Morning always brings a fresh start and new answers./**_

Yugi stifled a yawn at the thought of sleep and finally gave into the heavy feeling behind his eyes, allowing his mind to slip into an uneasy slumber. He did not, however, relinquish his Millennium Puzzle to the bedside table tonight. He kept it's chain in his hand, choosing to keep it as close as possible without also being uncomfortable in his bed.

The Spirit of the Puzzle felt that this was a good decision on the young one's part. There were unknown dangers lurking and he would not have Yugi remove the Puzzle from his person either. He had not mentioned it to his young friend, but Yami had noticed some strange things when they arrived on the property. He felt them pass through several strong wards as they entered the property and then the home. The wards had tugged at him slightly, but they lacked strength enough to keep the ancient Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle out. He imagined they might be effective against weaker spirits, perhaps, or those with evil intentions. Similar wards existed around Yugi's own home in Domino, though he didn't think the boy was aware of that fact.

Additionally, some unusual symbols unrecognized by the pharaoh were etched in obscure locations, like the door frame, and there were some strange items Yami noticed throughout the home. To his knowledge, most people did not sprinkle salt under window sills, yet he had noticed this phenomenon in a few locations. He recalled having heard something on television once about salt being used to repel evil spirits. Bobby even had a few translations of the _Ru Pert em Heru,_ otherwise known as _The Book of Coming Forth By Day_ or _The Egyptian Book of the Dead,_ which included a multitude of spells needed by deceased Ancient Egyptians in order to pass safely through the next world.

Yami felt certain that Bobby was trying to keep something out. What that could be, he was not sure. His mind flashed to the memory of the strange and unexplained encounter he and Yugi had had at the high school the previous week.

All-in-all, their new environment did little to lessen his growing unease. The Spirit was not sure what it all meant but he was beginning to wonder just what they had gotten themselves into. Tonight, he would not return to the Puzzle to rest his own soul. No, Yami would keep watch this night while Yugi slept. Just in case.

He settled, in his spirit form, into a worn armchair near Yugi's bedside, keeping his attention on the closed bedroom door and wishing he had a book to read. It was going to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Supernatural, or any of the characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Yugi awoke to the smell of frying bacon and his mouth watered at the tantalizing aroma. He quickly, but clumsily, rolled out of the bed. His leg became tangled in the sheets, causing him to trip and fall to the ground, taking the comforter and several pillows with him as he landed with a loud thud and an "umph!"

A low chuckle from the nearby armchair alerted him to Yami's presence. Yugi grumbled drowsily, "That's not funny, Yami."

 _ **/Hmm? We will have to agree to disagree on this one./**_

Yugi glared at the Spirit, who grinned and disappeared. _/Did you stay there all night?/_ He questioned, already knowing the answer.

 _ **/I did. It isn't like I have to sleep./**_

 _/Yeah, but that's got to be overwhelmingly boring./_

 _ **/You know what else is boring? Living inside of a puzzle. I know I did this for a reason but I have to wonder if I really thought that through./**_

Yugi dressed quickly, running a comb through his hair with little success before making his way down stairs and to the kitchen, which was well-lit and bright thanks to several windows and the door that opened up into the back of the property.

"I was just about to come see if you were awake yet," his mother told him as she set some plates, complete with a dated floral pattern, and silverware on the small wooden table.

Yugi groaned, "How could anyone sleep when there is bacon?"

"A boy after my own heart!" Bobby boasted noisily as he meandered into the kitchen with a beer in one hand and sporting several grease stains indicating he had been outside working on one of the vehicles. He wiped his blackened hands on an old rag that he kept in his back pocket and beamed at the teenage boy. "How about you go get your grandpa and we dig in?"

After breakfast, Yugi helped his mother clear the table and had begun to wash the dishes in the sink. He was stopped, however, when Bobby asked him to sit back down at the table so they could talk about some things.

Yugi let the dishes settle into the warm water to soak and sat down obediently, waiting for what he hoped would be some answers to his growing list of questions. Mrs. Mutou looked uncomfortable and she shifted in her seat nervously. Sugoroku reclined in his chair, nodding encouragingly to Melanie and hoping that she would choose to tell Yugi everything this time. It wouldn't be wise to try and keep this from Yugi any longer now.

Melanie wondered why she felt so afraid to tell her son the truth. Perhaps it was because she had been lying to him for years, trying to protect him from the ugly things of the world. She wanted so badly to keep evil away from her precious son, but he was no longer a small, frightened child. Yugi was growing up and, with the return of an old enemy, she knew in her heart that she could no longer keep her son in the dark. To do so would put him in greater danger.

"Mama?" Yugi spoke quietly but reassuringly, "Just say it, mama, please? Whatever it is that's on your mind…"

His voice trailed off, waiting for some sort of response. She wondered when her son had become the one to offer her reassurance instead of the other way around.

Melanie sighed and began her long tale. "Yugi, I don't know how to tell you this. I'm not sure where to... I guess I can just start at the beginning. I wasn't raised in a…normal…family, Yugi. My family, they're Hunters, or they were. I haven't seen my parents in years, or my siblings. It's dangerous work that they do and Bobby has kept up with them better than I have."

Yugi quirked his eyebrow and tilted his head but did not interrupt, though he stole a glance at Bobby, who met his gaze evenly and nodded affirmatively.

Mrs. Mutou inhaled slowly, continuing her story, "When I was a girl, I learned from my family how to hunt things. Terrible things. I'm not talking about bears and ducks and the like. When I say my family were Hunters, I mean they were Monster Hunters. Ghosts, werewolves, vampires…demons."

Yugi's mouth fell open slightly at that news though he snapped it shut with some force. Sure, it sounded crazy, but he had seen a lot of crazy things himself. If a Spirit like Yami could exist then, surely…

 _ **/Such things are not outside of the realm of possibility, Yugi. My people, I'm told, believed in all sorts of monsters and ghosts./**_

Yugi nodded, thoughtfully, "…and you still hunt monsters?"

She shook her head fervently. "No, dear. I haven't hunted in ten years."

"Ten years? Ten years ago, dad…" Yugi trailed off, his mind beginning to slowly put the puzzle pieces together. "What exactly are you telling me, mom?"

Yugi's mother blanched slightly at his words. He was beginning to understand, she realized. He was already working it out in his mind and he was not so nearly hung up on the existence of monsters and ghosts as she would expect a teenage boy to be.

"Yugi, ten years ago, your father and I went on a Hunting Trip. Your father was killed. I lost him and I nearly lost you as well, though you don't remember. You were only six at the time."

Yugi was done meandering around his questions now. "What killed my father?"

"It was…a demon, Yugi. We had no idea…I didn't realize what we were up against until it was too late. It was supposed to be a simple ghost hunt, and then it came after the family. It came after us. After you. It tried to take you away from me." Tears were streaming down her face now and a small sob escaped her lips. Bobby reached over, patting the distraught woman on the back with one of his big hands.

Something clicked in Yami's mind at that moment as realization finally dawned upon him.

 _ **/Yugi, sulfur. We smelled**_ **sulfur** _ **at your school that day, remember?/**_

Yugi froze at the memory. How could he forget? He hadn't been that frightened since dueling Marik's dark side in the Battle City Tournament.

 _/But I don't see what that has to do with this./_

 _ **/The scent of sulfur, or brimstone, is generally associated with the presence of evil spirits, or demons, as they are called./**_

 _/How do you know that?/_

Yami shrugged mentally.

 _/That would mean…/_

 _ **/This demon that hurt your family? It's was there./**_

Yugi had grown frighteningly silent and still as his mother finished her explanation and released a decade's tears. He didn't think he'd ever seen her cry before but it felt far away and surreal, somehow. He had the vague impulse to offer some words of comfort to her but Yugi felt disconnected from himself, and from the people around him. His father had been murdered by a demon and it was back. It had followed him at school that day, there could be no doubt now. He wasn't imagining things that day.

A sudden thought occurred to him, finally shaking him from his reverie. "My friends. I left my friends in Domino with a demon lurking around." The horror of this realization crashed down on him like a bolt of lightning.

He clenched his small fists and whispered, more to himself than to anyone else, "How am I supposed to keep them safe if I'm all the way out here?"

Bobby perked up at this and Sugoroku tensed in his seat, knowing how far Yugi would go to protect the people he loved. He was much like his father in that way.

Mrs. Mutou looked at her son strangely before rising from her seat. She stepped closer to his side before kneeling suddenly and wrapping him in a tight hug. He could feel her shaking slightly.

"Yugi, you're just a boy." He felt her arms tighten around his shoulders. "You can't fight demons, Yugi. You are safer here and your friends are safer if you're here, too. It will come after us when it realizes we have left Domino. Here we have a better chance."

 _ **/She might be right about that last part, my friend. If your family is the creature's prerogative then perhaps it will chase us here, which keeps it thousands of miles away from our friends./**_

 _/Yami, the bad guys always go after our friends. Always./_

"I'm not six years old anymore, mom. I'm not completely useless, you know." Yugi stood abruptly from the table, causing his mother's arms to drop from his shoulders. She gazed at him, not fully comprehending his meaning.

Without another word, Yugi left the small kitchen of Bobby's house, stepping outside into the junkyard. The screen door creaked and slammed shut behind him.

* * *

 **I want to thank those of you who took the time to review my story!**

 **Jaystarfighter: I also thought it was interesting that Mrs. Mutou rarely appears in the manga and never appears in the English dub of the anime, nor is she in the 1998 Season Zero episodes. It's almost like Yugi just spawned in! I recall only one scene from the manga with her. That scene doesn't give us much to go on for her character but Yugi called her "Mama" instead of something more formal, which seemed so much like something Yugi would do that I had to incorporate it into the story. I read somewhere that she does make a brief appearance in the Japanese anime and catches Yugi talking to himself. I'm currently working my way through those episodes, so we will see! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **PhantomBrat: Thank you for reading and reviewing! One of your stories got me wanting to write a Yugioh x Supernatural story in the first place. I've enjoyed several of yours since then so I really appreciate you taking the time to write me.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural. This is a work of fanfiction.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Yugi kept to himself for most of the afternoon, preferring to spend his time wandering around the junkyard, discussing the current predicament with Yami rather than face the awkwardness of talking to his mother again.

He was angry, despite his best efforts to squash his feelings of resentment. It hurt, knowing that his mother and father had lived a secret, danger-filled life and had never told him. Mostly, it hurt to think that his mother thought him too useless and weak to handle the truth about his father's death. Yugi sighed to himself, taking a seat on an overturned, rusted oil barrel and stretching his legs out in front of him.

 _/How could she keep me in the dark about this for ten whole years? I bet she'd never have told me if the demon wasn't back./_ He absently picked at a weed growing from beneath his seat.

 _ **/I don't know, Yugi. It is a very significant secret to keep, certainly./**_

 _/But?/_

The Spirit, who looked much like Yugi, though older and more serious, appeared beside the teenager, wanting to look his friend in the eyes for this conversation. Yami paused, considering his words carefully before continuing, _**/You're keeping some pretty big secrets yourself. I am not saying she was right by any means but, even so, I think she just wanted to protect you. This thing did take your father and it sounds like you were in no small danger yourself./**_

 _/My secret can't really be helped, can it? Especially now. They aren't just my secrets, either. Yami, they hunt_ spirits _. My mother and Bobby? They specialize in getting rid of supernatural entities./_

 _ **/You're not wrong. I do not imagine that she would respond well to learning of my presence./**_ Yami shook his head fervently. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out how that encounter would end.

 _/I'm not sure we're safer staying here. What if they figure it out and try to do something to you?/_

Yami snorted condescendingly and there was a note of pride in his voice as he said, _**/I'd really like to see someone, Hunter or no, try to drive me out. As long as you wish for me to remain, I will. I am no simple apparition./**_

 _/I know that. Still, if they do try, we may have to run back to Domino or something. I won't let them take the Puzzle away./_

 _ **/Try not to borrow more trouble, Yugi. We'll cross that bridge if and when we reach it. Right now, the most important thing is that you and your family are safe from this demon. For the time being, this seems to be the best place for you, even if it is wildly lacking in entertainment. Why are there so many rundown cars here, anyway? Ooh, is that a Camaro? I wonder if it runs…/**_

 _/It's a junkyard, that's all. Bobby owns it and…/_ Yugi trailed off as he heard the sound of a rather loud car making its way up the dirt road to Bobby's home. He ducked behind an wheelless truck, cautiously peering around the front of the vehicle in an effort to see who had arrived.

A dated but glossy black car came into Yugi's sight. He heard Yami whistle appreciatively in his mind. _**/That, young one, is a '67 Impala. I want it./**_

 _/You can't even drive. And since when do you know things about cars?/_

 _ **/Since your grandfather has a subscription to**_ **Muscle Cars Monthly Magazine./**

 _/I…honestly don't have a response prepared for that. Let's get a closer look./_

Yugi crept between several cars, keeping his body low to the ground and focusing very hard on making as little noise as possible. When he got closer to the Impala, however, he found that no one was there. He stood, then, a little confused.

 _/Maybe they went in-/_

He was cutoff when, without warning, two strong arms seized him from behind, catching his right arm behind his back. Yugi felt his face being pushed down on the car hood in front of him, which caused him to yelp in pain and surprise.

In an instant, Yami seized control, stomping heavily on the foot of the man who had grabbed Yugi so roughly. The unknown assailant, surprised by the unexpected resistance, gasped and faltered slightly, giving Yami enough give to twist his arm free before turning swiftly and slamming his fist into the attacker's face and, then, ramming his knee into the man's gut.

Yami did not take the time to consider the young man now kneeling, winded, on the ground before him. Instead, desperate to remove Yugi from further danger, the former pharaoh ran as quickly as he was able, weaving through some of the aged cars and trucks scattered about, and sprinting up the stairs of Bobby's house. As the door slammed shut behind him, Sugoroku Mutou rounded the corner, surprised to find the Pharaoh standing, wild-eyed and panting, in the small entrance foyer.

Yami straightened when he realized he had been seen. He attempted, and failed miserably, to adopt the innocent expression Yugi often wore.

"Erm, hi?" the Spirit offered an uncharacteristically meek wave.

"What happened?" Sugoroku questioned, concernedly.

Yami opened his mouth to speak but, before he finished a breath, voices from the kitchen chorused in greeting, and then in shock, as Dean Winchester, an attractive young man in his late 20s, stumbled ever so slightly as he entered the home through the back-kitchen doorway.

"Damn, Dean. I leave you alone for two minutes and you get into a fight with something." Yami did not recognize the owner of the male voice he was hearing, though he could surmise that it belonged to a young man.

"Some weird-haired kid was snooping around the junk yard and sucker-punched me when I went to check it out. Took off like a jack rabbit." Dean grumbled.

"Weird-haired…? You don't mean Yugi!" Mrs. Mutou exclaimed in surprise.

"Your son, Mel?" Dean asked, surprised.

The conversation was interrupted by uproarious laughter from Bobby. "Looks like Yugi busted you pretty good and serves you right. Always watch out for the little ones, idjit."

"I thought I heard him come in through the front door a moment ago," Mrs. Mutou said thoughtfully.

Sugoroku, who had been listening carefully to the exchange in the next room, turned his attention back to the teenage boy only to find that it was, once more, his young grandson standing before him, looking rather dazed and embarrassed. The boy was currently inspecting his busted knuckles, which throbbed from the force of the impact of driving his fist into Dean's face. Yugi almost couldn't believe his body was capable of that sort of action.

 _/How am I supposed to explain this, Yami?/_ Yugi asked, more than a little exasperated.

 _ **/Explain what? Someone grabbed you from behind and you punched him in the face, among other things, so you could get away. He's lucky that's all you did./**_

 _/I don't do things like that, Yami!/_

 _ **/Ahem. Those bloodied knuckles say you did, though, so…/**_

Grandpa Mutou gently took his grandson by the arm and walked him into the kitchen to meet their guests. Yugi's face was becoming increasingly red as he entered the room, still slightly shaken from the encounter moments before.

Yugi's wide amethyst eyes met the dark eyes of the young man he had left winded in the yard. Dean almost felt badly for having scared the boy in front of him now that he had a chance to look at the kid properly. The small teenager before him, with his doe eyes and round face, looked much younger than he imagined his sixteen-year-old cousin would. Sure, his hair was wild, but he still had an innocent, gentle nature to him.

He packed a hell of a punch for a kid his size, though.

"I-I am so sorry, mister," the shy teen offered timidly.

Was this mousy boy really the same person who had taken him down, albeit briefly, just minutes before? Maybe Sammy had been right when he advised Dean not to judge a book by its cover.

"It's cool, man. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. I'm Dean Winchester. This is my little brother, Sammy." Dean offered a lopsided smile and a handshake, which Yugi accepted gratefully, pleased to find that Dean did not seem to harbor any hard feelings towards him for "his" act of aggression.

Sam, who stood a bit taller than Dean and had slightly longer dusty-blonde hair, greeted Yugi warmly, with a kind smile and a handshake of his own. "Your mom was just telling us about you. We're, um, we're your cousins…and don't call him mister. That's way too respectful for him."

Dean glared as his brother momentarily, and then shrugged. Sammy wasn't necessarily _wrong_.

Yugi mentally slapped himself. His mother and Bobby had literally just been talking the night before about his cousins coming to see them.

 _/Yami, you punched my cousin in the face!/_

 _ **/I regret nothing./**_

"Yugi," Bobby began, "You don't owe this knucklehead any kind of apology. Sneaking up on the kid when he's a guest here. Jesus, Dean."

"I'm sorry, okay! I didn't recognize him, is all!"

Bobby shook his head in mild disgust, mumbling a few choice words under his breath. "Next time, kid, kick him in the balls."

 _ **/Now, that's too far. Dishonorable, that's what that is./**_ Yugi had to fight to prevent a smile from breaking across his face at the Spirit's commentary.

Yugi's mother took in his appearance, surprised to see her gentle son's knuckles were bloodied. _He really did_ _fight back, then? My little boy...since when?_ She shook her head, confused. It was difficult to imagine her son hitting anyone or anything with the intention of causing harm and, yet, he had clearly scrapped briefly with her younger cousin and had managed to escape unscathed.

Bobby, likewise, was considering Yugi with an appraising eye, or rather, he was looking at the large golden pendant hanging from a chain around the teen's neck. At first he'd thought it was a fashion statement of some kind but now he wasn't so certain. That design, the Egyptian eye in the middle of the pendant, it all looked familiar and that chain made him think Yugi was taking steps to keep it safe and close. He would have to ask Melanie about it later, he decided.

"So, um…" Yugi spoke up, trying to break the awkward silence that had ensued, "Sam? Dean? You guys are Hunters? I mean, you Hunt things, like my mom used to do?" He stammered a little as he spoke, feeling irritated by how his voice shook when he was uncomfortable.

A brief frown marred Dean's face before he rearranged his expression into his typical cocky grin. "Yeah, we go all over the place, take care of problems. It ain't always pretty but someone has to do it. We were finishing up a poltergeist case up north when Bobby gave us a ring and asked us to come help out here."

"Wow, that sounds…exciting," Yugi tried to sound enthused but a poltergeist was the last thing he felt like he'd want to actively seek out.

 _ **/Poltergeist's aren't so tough. I bet I could throw things, too, if I wanted./**_

 _/Please don't./_

Sam laughed dryly, "Hey, I wanted to be a lawyer. Sometimes, things just happen." He studied Yugi's face for a moment, feeling that he had seen the teenager somewhere before. "Geez, I can't figure it out. Yugi, you look so familiar but I can't place you. We don't have any family pictures of him, do we?"

Dean shook his head. "I doubt it. Why?"

Sam shook his head, "I don't know. I just definitely feel like I've seen him before and..." The younger Winchester brother's eyes widened. "Oh, my god. You're you."

"That's…yes?" Yugi's eyebrows shot up in a puzzled expression and he glanced at Dean, hoping the older brother might be able to shed some light on Sam's meaning.

"What the hell are you going on about, boy?" Bobby questioned.

The younger Winchester, however, wasn't listening. He had realized, finally, that he knew Yugi because Yugi was a celebrity. He'd seen his teenaged cousin on television and he was featured in a few dueling magazines that one of his college buddies, who was a huge fan of Duel Monsters, owned. Sam even had his own deck, though he wasn't very good at the game and hadn't played since before he left college.

He never realized it was his cousin. He had never met Yugi before, even as a child, and Sam only vaguely knew that their cousin, Melanie, who had cut herself off from the family years ago after some trouble, had a young son.

"I don't know how I didn't recognize you with the hair, Yugi! Dean, this is _the_ Yugi Mutou. I saw you on television a couple of years ago in one of the tournaments."

"Uh-huh? Yeah, I got that, Sammy. He's our friggin' cousin."

"No, you don't get it. Yugi's a legend at Duel Monsters! Don't you have a title?"

Yugi chewed his bottom lip nervously. "Yeah, that's, um, that's me. It's not that big of a deal." He tried to brush off his accomplishments, disliking the sudden attention. Yami was much better at coping with this kind of thing but Yugi didn't dare switch with the Spirit in the presence of a group of Hunters.

Grandpa Mutou, however, was exceptionally proud of his grandson's accomplishments and was not about to let the boy brush them aside.

"That's right, my grandson is the World Champion! Not a big deal. Not a big deal? It's a very big deal, young man! Never defeated, not even by the creator of the game! Why, if that's not big deal, I don't know what is."

"Nice, Yugi! Didn't know we had a celebrity in the family!" Dean smirked, feeling oddly proud of the cousin he'd only just met. "You make any money in those tournaments?"

"Oh, um, some? I don't really compete for the money."

"Yeah, Dean, everything isn't about money," Sam chimed in, causing Dean's face to twist into a disbelieving grimace.

Grandpa chuckled and then whispered to Dean, "I keep most of what he's earned in a savings account. Yugi doesn't pay much attention to money and gave a bunch of it to his friend, Joey, to help pay some medical expenses, but the prize money can be pretty significant in big tournaments."

Dean scratched his chin, considering this information. If the kid was as good as they were saying, he thought, maybe he'd put some money on Yugi's next duel.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

The next few days passed in relative quiet. Yugi spent more time getting to know his older cousins who fascinated him with stories of Hunts and the various creatures they had encountered. He was particularly curious about their encounters with spirits and, unsurprisingly, any information they could offer on how to handle demons like the one they were currently threatened by.

Sam had broken out his old deck, which resulted in no shortage of snide remarks from Dean, though the older brother still settled into watch the short games played between his brother and cousin. Before long, Dean was also getting into the card battles.

"Sammy, you can't win like that. You're just doing the same thing over and over again! Your cards suck, dude."

"You think you could do better?" Sam raised an eyebrow in challenge.

The elder Winchester snorted, "No question, little brother. You can't be much worse."

Dean was wrong. He was worse. Yugi defeated him swiftly and soundly, stunning the professional monster hunter and allowing a smug grin to settle onto Sam's face.

"I mean, I could give you guys some pointers if you want." Yugi offered timidly. He didn't want to insult his older cousins but they were terrible at the game and he had not shortage of time on his hands these days. He welcomed the opportunity to actually share something he loved with his cousins, too. Maybe he'd be able to have a proper challenge from them eventually.

Sam's eyes lit up, "Given some pointers by the King of Games? You bet I'm in! Dean is, too!"

"I am?"

"You are."

Dean felt a little silly, but he couldn't stand the smug look on his younger brother's face. It just screamed, "You suck at this and even I'm better than you, loser." That was enough to encourage Dean to take action. He realized now that the game was much more difficult than he had first believed and he'd need some training if he wanted to wipe that look off of Sammy's face.

"Alright, Yuge, I'm in." Dean agreed, finally. Yugi was pleased to find that his older cousins had quickly adopted the same nickname his friends often called him by. It was a nice feeling, he realized, to be surrounded by his family, even if they'd only just met. Plus, they were almost a strange as he was, which made him feel a little better.

"Really? Great! Give me just a second!" Yugi raced up to the room he'd been sleeping in the past few nights and rummaged through his bags until he found the golden box in which he kept his deck, rare cards and the extra cards that he did not put in his deck. He swiftly carried the small box back downstairs, beaming.

Sitting down on the floor by the coffee table once more, Yugi placed the golden box on the table. "This is where I keep my extra cards and stuff."

Sam and Dean's eyes widened significantly when they took in the beautifully carved box and it's worn Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Wow, Yugi, where did you get that? These markings…" Sam asked in a whisper.

"The box? Oh, my Puzzle was in it but, since I managed to finish the Puzzle, I figured I should still use the box for something, right?" He hadn't really thought they'd be so interested in the aged box. So far, no one had made any comment on his Puzzle or anything like that, so he had begun to relax, hoping that his cousins wouldn't be interested in Egyptian lore and history.

Yugi opened the golden box to reveal several cards inside. He had packed it with a few more cards than usual this time, not wanting to leave his precious things behind. The teen began sorting through some of the cards, picking out a few that he thought Sam could add to his deck. He paused, looking for a long moment at the God Cards before laying them back in the box gently. Sam nearly spit out his drink when he noticed the three cards in his cousin's hand.

"Those are…are those the God Cards, Yugi? Why don't you put them in your deck?" Sam inquired.

Dean raised an eyebrow, "The God Whats?"

"God Cards, Dean. They're they most powerful cards in the game. I heard they were in the last tournament. I guess you won that and got them all, huh?"

"Y-yeah. I don't like to duel with them, though, unless I really need to. They're really strong." He carefully held them up so his cousins could see them more clearly.

Dean snorted, "Well, if you don't want to use them, let me put them in my deck."

"You don't have a deck, Dean."

"I'm going to!" Dean shot back.

Yugi shifted uneasily in his seated position. He knew Dean was just joking with him, as he so often did over the past few days, but that knowledge did little to ease the small teen's sudden anxiety. The God Cards were dangerous in the hands of those who were not intended to wield them. He was loathe to let someone else touch them for all the harm they could cause. They were just too powerful and uncontrollable.

He put the cards back in the box and shut it with, perhaps, a little too much force. Looking back at his slightly puzzled cousins, Yugi smiled, hoping that the smile appeared genuine, and handed the cards he had chosen from the box to Sam.

"Here, Sam," he said, "I think these could be helpful to you. This trap card, "Wall of Disruption," is great in a pinch and permanently lowers the attack points of all enemy monsters in attack position by 800 points, for each attacking monster, if your opponent declares an attack. It's great for when you're outnumbered and is a good way to turn things around on your next turn."

"I also noticed you have a lot of Beast-Warrior monsters. This card, "Mystical Moon," is a field spell that will give them a boost." Sam smiled at Yugi as the boy handed him the two cards and a few others spares that he hoped Sam could use.

"Thanks, Yugi, that's really thoughtful of you." He hadn't expected the sudden generosity from his younger cousin and was a touched by the kind gesture.

"And, Dean? I'll help you build a deck if you want. You can use any of the spare cards I have. Maybe we can find a gaming shop in town soon, too, to get you started with cards you picked for yourself. But," he smiled shyly, "This card kind of makes me think of you."

Dean took the offered card and turned it over, reading its name, "Obnoxious Celtic Guard." The picture featured an elven warrior sporting green plate armor and a long two-handed sword. Dean smirked, and a mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes. "Well, thanks, Yuge. Glad to know you think I'm obnoxious."

Yugi looked surprised and then blushed as he stammered, "N-no! That's not it, I just, this card's effect is actually really useful. S-see, there? The card can't be destroyed in battle if the enemy monster has more than 1900 attack points. I just thought, I don't know, you kind of seem like the sort of person who is hard to keep down, even if the odds are against you. I, um, it's o-okay if you don't like it."

The older Winchester, not expecting that somewhat profound response, looked at Yugi carefully for a moment before snatching the kid into a headlock and ruffling his hair. "I love it, Yugi. My first card and it's super cool. Just like me." He winked cheekily as he let go of Yugi and patted his shoulder. "I was just messing with you, kiddo."

"You are obnoxious, though." Sam mumbled under his breath.

Yugi sighed in relief, pleased that his cousin liked the card. What he said was true, too. Dean and Sam had a sort of strength that Yugi couldn't quite put his finger on. They had clearly been through a lot and they did some really dangerous work, but they also, obviously, had managed to survive and take care of each other. The Winchester's were resilient and Yugi felt a sense of pride in being their cousin.

 _ **/They do have an unusual sort of strength, do they not? It is admirable./**_ Yami seemed rather impressed with Yugi's cousins as he spoke.

 _/Yeah, I wish I was more like that./_

 _ **/Yugi, you**_ **are** _ **like that. I find it amazing that you can see these things so clearly in others but can ignore it blatantly in your own person./**_

"Well, Yugi," Sam began, "Why don't we play another round with my new cards?"

Yugi grinned brightly, "You're on!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Supernatural, or any of the characters. This is a work of fanfiction.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Bobby was perplexed. He knew he'd seen the symbol on the pendant Yugi wore somewhere before but he couldn't seem to find it anywhere in any of his books. It wasn't quite the same as the Eye of Ra, which appeared relatively often in Egyptian texts and art.

The pendant, which he now understood was an intricate puzzle, was obviously Egyptian. He had seen the golden box Yugi said had originally held the Puzzle. The hieroglyphs, though worn with age, gave Bobby the impression that it was dated sometime during the Old Kingdom Period. How on earth had little Yugi gotten his hands on an artifact from four or five thousand years ago?

He was worried, he realized. Ancient Egypt, or Kemet, as it was called at the time, was shrouded in mystery. Egyptian magic, from what Bobby had been able to find, was potent and often unknown in the modern world. He had never really encountered it before due to its rarity. That was saying something considering that Bobby had pretty much seen it all by this point in his life.

Perhaps the puzzle Yugi carried around his neck was nothing more than a trifle, a normal puzzle. Maybe it was just a fluke that Yugi had managed to get his hands on the priceless artifact. It could all mean absolutely nothing.

Bobby did not think that was the case. He wasn't sure why that was. Yugi had something special about him that Bobby couldn't quite pinpoint and that Puzzle, likewise, seemed special in some way.

Maybe it was the way Yugi sometimes fiddled with the puzzle without thinking, gently stroking its smooth surface, or the fact that, when Yugi seemed flustered or nervous, he would grasp at the puzzle, holding it tightly. Bobby couldn't help but notice that the boy often relaxed then, as if the puzzle soothed him.

Likewise, Bobby had noticed Yugi taking no small interest in his meager collection of books on Egyptian myths and legends. Bobby wasn't as much of an expert on the subject as he wished to be, but he liked to have such things on hand in his line of work, just in case. In fact, Yugi had asked Bobby for permission to borrow his copy of _The Book of Coming Forth by Day_ and had spent a good bit of time thumbing through some of his texts on Egyptian mythology.

He could easily explain away Yugi's apparent fixation on his puzzle. After all, many people had items they kept nearby to offer comfort. He could also explain why Yugi would be interested in Egyptian texts. The subject, Bobby thought, was fascinating. Some people liked learning new things just for the sake of learning. Grandpa Mutou, likewise, had a deep-seeded interest in Egyptian history, being an archeologist in his younger days.

Bobby hoped to God that that was all it was.

One morning, a few days after Sam and Dean had arrived, Bobby found his opportunity to discuss his concerns with Melanie Mutou. The Winchester brothers had taken Yugi into town to find a gaming shop, leaving the house quiet for the first time since their arrival.

Mrs. Mutou was sitting in the living room enjoying a cup of coffee with her father-in-law as Bobby entered the room, taking a seat in his favorite, most worn-out, recliner. Melanie looked up from the newspaper article she was perusing, offering Bobby a small smile in greeting.

"Mornin', Melly," Bobby yawned, still shaking the remaining drowsiness from his mind. Now would be as good of a time as any to bring up what had been on his mind.

"Good morning, Bobby. Would you like some coffee?" Melanie asked sweetly. "You looked a little tired."

"Eh, I didn't sleep so great last night." Bobby thumbed at a loose button on his faded shirt. "Listen, Melly, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Melanie gave Bobby a slightly amused smile. "Bobby, you can talk to me about anything, you know."

Bobby nodded his head, doubtful. "Well, Mel, the thing is, I have a couple of questions. About Yugi."

Sugoroku perked up at this, snapping his attention from the morning weather forecast to the conversation before him. "What about my grandson?" he inquired.

Bobby wasn't sure how to proceed. He didn't want to unnecessarily worry Melanie and the older gentleman, but he knew he needed to broach the topic sometime. He wasn't about to start pussy-footing around now.

"I was just wondering when, and how, Yugi got his hands on that puzzle he wears." Bobby spoke slowly, considering his words carefully.

Melanie put her coffee cup down on the table and bowed her head slightly, "His grandfather gave it to him several years ago. I am not sure when exactly he finished it."

"Two years ago," Sugoroku spoke up. "He solved it two years ago. He worked on the thing for a good eight years before finally getting it. It's, well, it's an artifact I found during one of my digs in Egypt. I was a much younger man then, you see."

Bobby eyed Mr. Mutou, "So, it was you who found it? You didn't notice anything, um, strange, did you? When you found the puzzle?"

The answer was yes, he had noticed quite a few things that were strange when he entered the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh and took the Millennium Puzzle from its resting place. He'd nearly been murdered by his guides and then he was rescued by what he believed to be the very spirit of that same pharaoh. For a long time, Sugoroku had thought he had only dreamed up the mysterious figure who had pulled him up from the ledge, whispering joyfully, "I've been waiting for you."

Then, his grandson was born. Yugi was a very different child. He was exceptionally clever, certainly, and skilled at games from the beginning. Sometimes, Yugi would talk to people who weren't there, informing his grandfather and parents that his old friends had come to play. His parents were decidedly alarmed by this information, being Hunters, but they had never found any signs that spirits or ghosts were haunting their child and soon began to attribute his behavior to an overactive imagination.

Soon after the death of his father, Yugi discovered the Millennium Puzzle packed away in a corner of the storage room closet. Yugi had immediately set to work on it. He did not give up even once, no matter how many times he failed or how many stories of curses his grandfather made up to scare him away. As the boy grew, Sugoroku realized, with no small shock, that his grandson favored the unknown spirit who had rescued him in that tomb decades before. But how could that be?

When Yugi solved the Puzzle, everything suddenly made sense to Sugoroku. He understood then that his grandson had been destined to bear the Puzzle and harbor the Spirit within it. The old man recognized the presence of the Spirit before Yugi himself was aware of the ancient soul now bound to his own.

He liked to think of it as having been blessed with two grandsons. Besides, he owed the Spirit his life and knew without a doubt that the Spirit would never harm Yugi or allow the boy to be harmed by others. In fact, he couldn't help but think that, if the demon who killed his son ever did come after Yugi, it would be hard pressed to overpower the former pharaoh.

Sugoroku also knew that Melanie and Bobby might not be so understanding about the Spirit as he was, even if they meant well.

"No, not really, Bobby." He answered mildly, feeling a little guilty for his lie. "The most unusual thing about it is that someone was able to solve it."

Bobby studied the older man for a few uncomfortable moments before sighing. He could tell that Mr. Mutou was holding something back from them, but the old man was no fool. He doubted the former archeologist, with his extensive knowledge on Egyptian lore and the like, would have given the Puzzle to Yugi if he believed it to be dangerous.

"And you, Melly? You noticed anything strange going on?"

Melanie frowned slightly. That was the problem, wasn't it? She hadn't noticed much of anything in the past few years. She didn't even realize her son had completed the Puzzle he'd been working on for so long.

Her son seemed much the same in many ways. He was, as ever, sweet-natured and kindhearted to a fault. He was still shy a lot of the time, though he seemed to be interacting much more easily with others than he had before. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary, really. That was actually something to be happy about, she thought.

However…

She could not deny that there were moments when her sweet son seemed to disappear completely, as if there were someone else in control of his body. She had noticed an uncustomary intensity wash over her son, first when she and Sugoroku had told him about their trip and a few times since. Then, there were intermittent moments in which she thought, for a split second, that her son's eyes would change, taking on a dangerous red shade. When she looked again each time, however, his eyes would be the same gentle purplish color they'd always been and he'd ask her, perplexed, why she was staring at him.

"I'm not really sure, Bobby," she sighed. "I've been so wrapped up in work and in keeping an eye out for danger than I have...neglected some things. He seems different sometimes, but then, I think he could just be growing up without me even noticing."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam, Dean, and Yugi were enjoying a calm morning riding around Sioux Falls in the black Impala. The plan was to stop at several gaming and card stores in order to acquire the kinds of cards Dean would need to build a deck, and maybe find a few Sam would use as well. Yugi was practically bouncing with excitement as they entered the first shop.

Yugi knew his stuff, too, obviously. When the shopkeeper, a balding man in his 40s, tried to sell Dean a card for way more than it was worth, Yugi intervened on his cousin's behalf, calmly explaining to the shop keeper that the card wasn't nearly so rare as he was making it out to be. The store clerk did not like that very much, naturally, and had begun to argue when one of the posters on his own wall caught his attention. He glanced back at the teenager before him, his jaw becoming slack. The boy on the Duel Monsters poster that had been hanging on the store wall for months was now standing before him.

"Why, you're…you're…" The man motioned to the large poster, wordlessly.

Yugi laughed half-heartedly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Ah, yep."

"But, what on earth are you doing here, Mr. Mutou?" the man stammered.

"I'm visiting some family." Yugi indicated his elder cousins, who smiled and waved politely.

The clerk, whose eyes were as large as saucers now, suddenly disappeared into the back room, returning with some posters he begged Yugi to sign and babbling about how honored he was to meet the King of Games in his own shop.

Sometimes, Yugi really wished his appearance didn't make him so noticeable, not that there was much he could do about it. Still, he had a difficult time turning people down and agreed to sign some autographs. In return, the clerk offered the lowest prices he could manage for his cards. He figured he could handle a little bit of a loss on some cards. Having the King of Games in his store, after all, was bound to bring his shop more attention, and sales, soon anyway.

They left the store, having aquired more than a few new card, and decided to walk the block rather than return to the car. It was a nice day and there were several game stores, among other things, that had caught their attention. Sioux Falls wasn't nearly so boring as Yugi had initially feared. It was actually proving to be both lovely and entertaining.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam, Dean, and Yugi spent several hours meandering around the shopping district and enjoying themselves. Sam and Dean couldn't remember the last time they had done something fun like this. Sam certainly hadn't spent a morning relaxing and perusing game shops since college, at the very least. Dean couldn't recall ever having done so but he liked it nonetheless. He even managed to score the number of a cute gamer girl working the register in one of the shops, which had impressed Yugi to no end.

"I tell you what, Yuge. Since you're going to make me a master duelist, I'll teach you all I know about getting the attention of the ladies." Dean smirked slyly.

Sam let out a bark of laughter, earning him a glare and a sharp elbow to the ribs, courtesy of his older brother. As far as Sam was concerned, Dean's methods for picking up women mostly included hitting on as many of them as possible until one took the bait.

Yugi's eyes sparkled, excitedly, "Re-really?! I mean, that would be great!"

Yami's low chuckle echoed in the back of Yugi's mind, causing him to blush in embarrassment for how eagerly he had welcomed the advice from his older cousin, who was clearly a master at attracting women.

 _ **/You mostly just need advice on the one girl, right? It's about time!/**_

Yugi clenched his jaw slightly, his blush deepening. Just how obvious could he be?

The Winchesters were more than pleased with the new member of the family. After all, family was something that they had little of and valued highly. Their mother, Mary Winchester, had been killed by a demon years before when Sammy was still an infant. Their father, John Winchester, was one of the best Hunters out there, and had raised his sons to be highly skilled in their own rights. That hadn't saved him, however, and he met an unfortunate end years later. Other than Bobby, they really didn't have anyone else.

Yugi was a good kid, too. Even after finding out the horrifying truth of his father's death, learning that his parents were Monster Hunters and that a demon was actively pursuing his family, the teen was still relatively chipper, level-headed, and considerate. All things considered, they felt that Yugi was bearing up rather well. Most kids his age would have completely freaked out if they found out that demons, ghosts, and all the awful monsters of legend were, in fact, real.

As afternoon approached, the trio began to get hungry. Yugi had taken the opportunity to stock up on an unreasonable number of candies from one of the local sweet shops but those weren't really lunch material. He knew Yami would want to try them, too, and he couldn't very well switch with his other soul here with Sam and Dean. They were pretty observant, and he figured they would be the ones to notice the changes in his person and form Yami brought on.

 _/I'd give anything for a burger right about now./_

They began to wander back in the direction of the car, rather slowly, as they had nowhere pressing to be. Somehow, they had managed to walk several blocks without realizing just how far they had gone. Dean kicked himself mentally for going so far from the car, which held most of their weapons. They hadn't seen any signs of demons, or any other threat, in the vicinity but you could never be too cautious in their line of business. Dean had only brought with him a small revolver and a flask filled with holy water, just in case, and that wasn't going to do much to a powerful demon.

As they approached the Impala, a woman's sudden and piercing scream met their ears, startling them to alertness. Yugi's eyes widened in concern as he turned towards the narrow back alley from which the sound had originated.

"Someone could be in trouble!" He exclaimed. Without thinking and before his cousins could stop him, Yugi dropped the few bags he was carrying and sprinted down the alley in the direction of the scream.

"Yugi! Wait!" Sam called, to no avail. Yugi was long since gone, spurned to action by his overwhelming need to help others.

"Sammy, go after him!" Dean ordered as he rounded the car and popped open the trunk hastily. "I'll be right behind you!"

Sam, fearing for the brave, but reckless, teenager, took off down the alley, finding it uncomfortably cramped as he did so. He had already lost sight of Yugi and his mind was screaming at him that this could be a trap. The back alleys had a surprising number of twists and turns and Yugi could have taken any one of the branching paths.

Meanwhile, Yugi had run as fast as his legs could carry him, his mind focused only on finding and rendering aid to the distressed individual. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, finding the alleyway filthy and dim, despite the midday sun.

"Please, someone, help me!" the voice pleaded, sobbing.

"Where are you?!" Yugi called, darting from alleyway to alleyway.

 _ **/Yugi, you should not have run off on your own! This is dangerous!/**_ Yami chastised him, his voice thick with tension.

Yugi hadn't really thought about that, or anything else, for that matter. His kindheartedness had gotten away from him, prompting him to act in a noble, if foolish, way. A chill crept up his spine and he began to have second thoughts. He was seriously considering turning around when he spotted, to his surprise, a young woman lying on the ground at the back of a smaller, dead-end alley. She was deathly still.

The boy hesitated at the mouth of the alley for a moment, sensing Yami at the edge of him mind, lying in wait for the slightest hint of trouble. The Spirit would not stop Yugi from helping someone in need, but he felt horribly uneasy about the whole thing.

"Miss?" Yugi called, trying to stir the prostrate woman. He couldn't see her well, with her face down and her long blonde hair messily strewn about. Quietly, he edged closer, stepping over the broken glass and refuse that littered the narrow path.

He reached a slightly trembling hand towards the unconscious woman, touching her shoulder gently, "Miss? Are you alright?" She did not stir.

Carefully, Yugi turned the blonde girl over, causing her to groan lightly. At least she was alive, he thought. She was quite pretty, he noticed, and couldn't be more than a few years older than he. The t-shirt she wore indicated that she was most likely a student at the University of Sioux Falls.

Oddly enough, the young woman did not appear to be injured, having no visible marks or bruises from an attack or assault. Something had to be wrong with her, though. Her eyes were still sealed shut and her breath came in rapid gasps.

"It's going to be alright," Yugi whispered gently.

 _/What on earth could have happened to her? There's no one even here. I don't see any blood. She doesn't have any obvious wounds./_

 _ **/I don't know…but…/**_ Yami paused, feeling the unease in his being intensify suddenly. Something was undeniably strange about the girl. She seemed wrong, somehow, and he felt a memory tug at the back of his mind, just out of reach. It was like her own light was being drowned in something dark. He shuddered and spoke with some urgency. _**/Yugi, let me take over. Please./**_

"Why?" Yugi asked out loud, too preoccupied with tending to the woman to worry about being overheard.

Yami did not have time to answer, however, or even to think. The blonde girl's eyes shot open, suddenly, causing Yami and Yugi both to withdraw from her in shock. She grinned, though it was more of a cruel, disdainful grimace than a smile.

Worse, however, were her eyes. Yugi gasped in horror as he took in the terrible blackness of them. There was no color or iris to be seen. Instead, her eyes were like two dark and endless pools. Simply looking into them filled his heart with the deepest dread, causing him to freeze in place.

She moved quickly; too quickly for even the Spirit of the Puzzle to respond. Yugi had no chance to run or fight as the young woman seized him by the neck, slamming his diminutive frame into the brick wall of the alleyway. The force of the impact was far greater than that which any human being should be able to muster, and he cried out in pain as his head met brick. Yugi felt his mind swimming, his vision blurring and dimming.

It was then that he released control of his body, letting his own soul recede into the background.

Yami took over quickly, desperately, his eyes flashing a furious red as the Puzzle emitted a bright light. A displeased growl emitted from his constricted throat as he roughly grasped the wrist holding his body off the ground. His sudden strength and fierceness took the attacker off guard, and her black eyes widened in surprise as she hissed in pain. She released him jumping back and eyeing him carefully from a few feet away, all hints of a grin now wiped from her face.

The figure standing before her was surely not the same little boy she had been watching all morning. She had followed Yugi Mutou and his cousins from the moment they had arrived in the city hours before. She'd cased them the entire time as they wandered around the shopping district, taking their measure, waiting for an opportunity to isolate the little one and strike. By now, she felt that she knew her subject rather well and her ruse had worked perfectly. He was gentle. He was kind. He was weak.

The young man standing before her now, however, was full of wrath and war-ready. The shy and soft-spoken boy had disappeared and, in his place, was something else entirely.

Yugi's mouth moved, though his voice was much different than before. Deep. Certain. Angry.

"You dare?"

* * *

 **Thank you all for the kind reviews! I know my updates are sporadic, mostly due to the fact that I am currently on vacation and have had plenty of time to write. I can't stand waiting to post things so the chapters go up almost as soon as I finish proofreading them.**

 **Bananarock509: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed the story thus far! As for the one-shot you're referring to, I'm not sure if I've read the exact one you're talking about but there have been a few that I've stumbled on at random in the past months that have influenced the way I interpret Sugoroku's thoughts on his grandson. If you could let me know exactly which one you are referring to, I would LOVE to read it! 3**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural, which is a shame, really.**

 **This chapter will feature a Shadow/Dark Game. Let me just say that this was incredibly difficult to write and I seriously wonder how Takahashi came up with so many random games back in the day. I wracked my brain for quite some time to come up with a Shadow Game not used in the manga and it still falls short of my expectations. The idea came from a puzzle game my own grandpa had. It was an old, bronze number slider game. That thing drove me crazy as a kid. Anyway, something like this has probably been done before but it's the best I've got. I hope it isn't too disappointing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

"Let's play a game." The Spirit of the Puzzle smirked as the words left his mouth. It had been some time since he'd last organized a Dark Game and a part of him missed it. He had mostly stopped after Duelist Kingdom, not wanting to risk Yugi's safety and knowing that the younger soul did not approve of the harsh way Yami often dealt with enemies. This was different, however. He was certain that the young woman he faced now was being controlled by a demon. If he played his cards right, he might be able to free the girl as well.

The game would need to be a simple one; something that he could create relatively easily and that would not give him an unfair advantage. An idea occurred to him, prompting a small smile to grace his lips.

Yami worked quickly, weaving the encroaching Shadows into the desired game with more than a little malicious intent. The Shadows obeyed, eager for a chance to claim a new victim. The creature before him would sincerely regret bringing Yugi harm.

This was decidedly more than the demon had signed up for. She was a low-ranking demon, often sent to handle grunt work and less desirable assignments. She had groaned when her superiors informed her that she would be tasked with putting an end to the teenage son of Melanie Mutou. The demon had hoped that the job might prove to be a little more interesting when she discovered that the Winchester brothers were keeping close to Yugi, but then he had been almost disappointingly easy to separate from his older cousins.

Things had suddenly become too interesting for her tastes. It was obvious to her now that the boy had another tenant taking up residence in his body. That tenant, who had a rather frightful gleam in his eye, had not taken kindly to her attempts at harming his host. He did not seem to be a demon, however. A human spirit? He seemed different than the others she had encountered.

The world around them darkened and she could feel the heavy magic swirling in the air surrounding them, trapping her in an invisible wall of shadows. For the first time in a long time, the demon remembered what it was to fear. She struggled to appear unfazed by the strange magic and the rage of the Spirit before her.

"Why," she asked with a sneer, "should I play a game with you?"

"Oh?" He chuckled darkly, "I thought a being such as yourself might jump at a chance for a Dark Game. Don't your kind typically enjoy claiming the souls of others?"

She raised an eyebrow, her interest peeked. He was right. A Dark Game sounded exactly like something she'd enjoy, though she didn't really know what it entailed. However, a demon such as herself could benefit greatly from claiming the soul of the strange and powerful individual before her. Indeed, she highly doubted a mortal could come up with something to truly challenge her.

"How does this work?" She asked, smiling wickedly. Her avaricious eyes gleamed with thoughts of claiming her prize.

"The rules are simple," Yami began, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Sam asked the empty air.

In front of him stood a wall of writhing shadow, blocking off one of the narrow alleyways. No sound escaped from behind the barrier and he could make out nothing happening on the other side. It was like nothing he'd ever seen.

And there weren't many things that Sam hadn't seen.

Slowly, Sam reached towards the wall of darkness. Somehow, the shadows converged in this place, solidifying against his touch. He pushed against the wall with more force this time, but, if anything, the ominous barrier became more resistant.

Sam became so engrossed in prodding at the solid shadows that he did not hear the sound of footsteps approaching. As a hand land heavily on his shoulder, he jumped, stifling a yelp of surprise.

"Sammy, what the hell, man?" Dean started at Sam's reaction, having assumed that his brother was aware of his heavy steps. "And what the hell is this thing?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Nah," Dean reached forward, hesitantly pressing a palm against the shadows. "This is some weird shit. Where's the kid?"

The younger Winchester shook his head, unsure of his answer. "I don't know, Dean. I lost him and then I found this thing. You don't think he could be behind it, do you?" Concern ran thickly into Sam's voice, though he tried to hide it.

Dean kicked the shadow wall, grunting and cursing as he stubbed his toe painfully against it.

"Knowing our luck? Of course, that's where he is. You think we can shoot through this thing?"

* * *

Yami could feel the presence of others pushing against his barrier. He wondered, vaguely, who would be brazen enough to approach the wall of pure shadow. Not that it really mattered. No one could interrupt a Dark Game. The Shadows would not permit it.

He turned his attention back to the game about to begin, smirking cockily.

It was a simple game, provided by the Shadows and fueled by the memory of a game he'd seen Grandpa Mutou play while listening to the evening news. On the ground before him was a large golden puzzle, featuring a series of fifteen sliding squares, each the size of a grown man's hand and carved with a portion of a simple picture. It featured four columns and four rows. The idea was to slide the squares around, manipulating each piece until they formed a complete picture.

The same puzzle was on the ground before his adversary, who looked less than pleased with the task at hand. He could sense her impatience growing already.

"The rules are simple," Yami told the demon. "The first one to complete the puzzle, revealing the hidden image, wins. To keep things fair, I do not know what the picture depicts, either. If you lose, you leave the girl and return to whatever hole you crawled out of. If I lose, you get my own soul – only mine – and you may do with it what you wish. If you cheat, or if you lose and break your end of the deal, you will face a penalty game."

The demoness, brimming with arrogance, knelt and began to move the puzzle pieces around rapidly and without method. She was eager to finish the silly human game and claim the soul of the young man, if that's what he was, now sitting cross-legged in front of his own puzzle.

The Pharaoh studied the jumbled image before him carefully, trying to imagine what the end picture might be. The picture was difficult to make sense of in its current state, though he was able to make out some of the connecting pieces relatively quickly. Slowly, methodically, Yami began moving the pieces. It was crucial to consider the bigger picture and the consequences of each movement as he worked.

An angry hiss to his right indicated that the demon was quickly growing frustrated with the puzzle. She had been rushing and had managed, somehow, to make an even bigger mess of the image before her than before, if that was possible. On the other hand, Yami was making some progress.

It was infuriating, she thought, that he was doing so well with the puzzle while she, a mighty demon, was struggling to keep more than two or three of the images in the proper order.

After a few minutes, Yami was more than half way through with his puzzle. He bit his lower lip in concentration, focused on nothing but the game before him. He smiled absently as he began to make sense of the shape carved into the puzzle. It seemed to be a simple ankh, the Egyptian symbol for "life". The image was oddly comforting.

Seeing her enemy smile, the demoness cursed nastily under her breath. There had to be some way for her to gain the upper hand over the strange man. He had said the game was fair, but she was certain that there was no way he was doing so well without cheating. How could a human, spirit or living, outsmart a demon? A wicked thought occurred to her at that moment and she had to turn her face to hide a vindictive grin.

Why was she playing along with this game? She could take what she wanted, surely. Humans were easy enough to possess, magic or no. She would simply force her being into the boy and take his body for her own. She could overpower the other spirit residing in Yugi's body with ease. Then she would win, and she'd have both souls anyway. What purpose was there in making a deal when she could seize what she wanted? She was no Crossroads Demon. Her word was not nearly so binding.

Of course, her task had been to simply kill the Mutou boy. For some reason, she no longer cared about what her orders were. If she could claim his souls, and magic, for her own then she wouldn't have to answer to anyone ever again.

Yami watched the demoness out of the corner of his eye as she worked. She was too easy to read, he thought to himself. It was painfully obvious from the tense way she moved that she was preparing to make some sort of move against him. He smirked to himself, keeping his eyes trained on the emerging image forming in front of him. When she cheated, and she almost certainly would, she would seal her own fate.

With little warning, the girl's head turned upward, and, to Yami's disgust, black smoke billowed up from the young woman's throat, leaving its abandoned host lying unconscious on the ground. The demon's true form, he acknowledged briefly. The thick smoke crackled with tainted and warped energy. Evil radiated from it, causing Yami to instinctively flinch away from the oppressive aura. He did not, however, move from his seated position. This was precisely what he'd been waiting for.

The dense cloud surged forward, converging on Yami, surrounding his form in its choking mass. He could feel the demon pressing around him, choking his airways and trying to force itself into his body. The very thought of such a thing was apalling. Its efforts were interrupted as the Millennium Puzzle pulsed, emitting a bright and unforgiving light. The light encompassed Yami's entire body, sending the demon screaming backwards in a desperate attempt to escape the painful brightness.

"Sorry, no vacancies," Yami sneered, his voice heavy with revulsion. "You've intruded on my soul and must suffer the consequences." He gestured towards the demon's immaterial form, his palm outstretched and glowing with dark magical energies.

"Penalty Game: Imprisonment!"

The demon screeched in protest, flying backwards through the air and slamming into the wall of shadow that had begun to close in. The Shadows surrounded the supernatural cloud, caging it in an inescapable prison.

A final, agonized scream emitted from the demoness as the Shadows disappeared into nothingness, dragging the corrupted soul with them into whatever hell they could devise.

Yami didn't really care what happened to the demon as long as it did not return to threaten those he cared about again. The Shadows would see to that, of course. They severely punished those who did not abide by the rules of the Dark Games.

All traces of the game disappeared with the retreating darkness, leaving only the unconscious blonde woman and Yami alone in the abandoned alley.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural. This is a work of fanfiction.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

In the intermittent moments, Sam and Dean had backed away as the Shadows began to move and shrink. The pair were hidden around the corner of the alley, remaining out of sight of whatever might appear once the darkness cleared. They could hear inhuman screams as the blackness faded away into nothingness, dragging the demon with it.

The Winchesters were immensely relieved as they peered cautiously around the corner and saw their young cousin standing up from the pavement, dusting his jeans off as though nothing profound had happened. They watched as Yugi glanced over at the young woman on the ground and approached her still form, resting two long fingers against her neck. Satisfied that she was still alive and breathing, he removed the light jacket he was wearing and bundled it under the woman's head.

"Yuge, what happened?!" Dean called as they approached, somewhat cautiously.

Yami, still in control of the shared body, straightened from his kneeling position and tried to think quickly of a response. Yugi was still resting peacefully in his soul, exhausted from the attack, and would not stir anytime soon. This left Yami with the task of pretending to be Yugi. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem as people usually assumed that was precisely who he was; however, Dean and Sam were unusually observant men. He could not afford to make a mistake and give himself away with the two Hunters.

The Spirit straightened, rearranging his expression into what he hoped resembled the wide-eyed innocence of his brother soul. His rage towards the demon had clouded his judgement earlier, and he hadn't thought through to the possible consequences should Sam and Dean discovered what he had done.

He certainly wasn't counting on them being right there as the Shadow Game dispersed and he was left standing there with an unconscious woman. There really was no good explanation that he could offer them.

Yami had one option: play dumb. Quickly, he adopted a confused expression, frowning slightly and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um…I-I'm not really sure, guys." Yami pitched his voice higher and adopted Yugi's occasional stutter. The imitation was effective. He sounded very much like his young counterpart, if not exactly like him. The Spirit was mildly proud of himself for his impromptu acting.

Dean patted who he believed to be Yugi on the shoulder, glancing around the alleyway warily. "You didn't see anything?"

The Pharaoh scratched his head thoughtfully. "I mean, I definitely saw…something. I'm just not really sure what. She was acting crazy, though." He shrugged lightly and gestured to the young woman lying on the pavement. "I think she needs a doctor."

Dean knelt by the girl, his eyes lighting up as he found the clue he was looking for. "Sammy, check this out. Sulfur on her clothes. She was definitely possessed." That was one mystery explained, at least. He wiped the sulfurous residue on his fingers off on his jacket and began searching the alley for any other signs that might help explain what had caused the anomalous shadow wall. Some kind of magic, maybe? Was there a witch involved in this? Something else? Whatever it was had completely disappeared.

"Looks like she roughed you up a bit, huh?" Sam was checking Yugi's body over now with some concern, noting the angry bruising around his cousin's neck and inspecting him for other signs of injury. A trickle of blood running down the back of the teen's neck gave testimony to his head injury. He seemed to be steady enough at the moment but the wounds were relatively serious. They'd need to be treated soon. Maybe Yugi was hit hard enough to black out and really didn't remember what had happened.

Maybe.

But…there was something peculiar about his young cousin that Sam hadn't noticed before now. Something in the boy's mannerism had changed ever so slightly. Were his eyes always red? It was an unnatural color and an uneasy knot formed in the younger Winchester's gut. Yugi's gaze seemed more piercing and calculating than before, now that Sam was looking closely. It wasn't right.

Yugi was watching Dean conduct his investigation with curiosity, paying little attention to the younger Winchester brother checking his wounds. Sam continued his inspection so as not to alert the boy to his developing plan. He just needed to be certain. If he was wrong, then he was sure Yugi would understand. If he was right, however, well, he didn't really want to think about his kindhearted cousin under the oppressive control of some demon.

He carefully slipped the flask of holy water from his jacket's inner pocket, unscrewing its stopper. Yami turned to Sam just in time to catch a face fully of the blessed substance. The Pharaoh stifled a yelp, sputtering and blinking the water from his eyes.

Absolutely nothing happened, much to Sam's relief and disbelief. There had assuredly been a demon here; the sulfur residue left no doubt of that. It had attacked Yugi, but neither killed him nor possessed him. Unless, of course, it was one of the rare and powerful demons to whom holy water was no more than a mildly irksome mosquito bite. Sam couldn't completely rule out that possibility, he realized, feeling slightly nauseated. A similar situation had occurred with his father years before.

Yami tilted his head in confusion, his eyes wide as he wiped the water from his face with the back of his hand. His shirt was now quite soaked and clung to his skin uncomfortably. "Did I need a shower, or…?"

Dean reappeared at Sam's side now, holding the young woman in his arms and looking more than slightly astonished himself. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it again at the look Sam gave him. If Sam was splashing Yugi with holy water, there was probably a very good reason for it. Something made Sam think Yugi might be possessed. Even now, Sam did not seem completely certain. After all, the demon that was currently after Yugi's family had been a powerful one. Exactly how powerful, they did not know, nor did they know for certain that the same demon had attacked Yugi. There were an unfortunate number of "ifs" in this scenario.

"Yugi's" eyes were darting anxiously between his cousin's tensed visages now. "Sam? Dean?"

The Winchester's exchanged a final glance before turning back to Yugi with strained smiles fixed firmly on their faces.

"It's alright, Yuge. Sammy was just checking something real quick, weren't you, Sammy? Let's go back to the house and get you fixed up." Dean put his hand on Yugi's shoulder to reassure him. If there was something inside of Yugi even after the holy water, their best bet would be to get him back to the house where they could exorcise it.

Then again, that could be exactly what the demon wanted and expected. He didn't see that they had much of a choice in the matter, however. They had to be sure and they couldn't risk doing an exorcism here. If there was a demon and it escaped with Yugi, they may never get him back.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, sorry, Yugi. Holy water. I just wanted to make sure you were still…you. Looks like you're fine, though. Do you feel alright?"

A far-away look crossed Yugi's face before disappearing again. "Oh, that's…that's alright, I guess. I'm fine, other than the wet shirt and the headache." He smiled ruefully, trying not to appear troubled that his cousin thought he was possessed.

But Yami was troubled and feeling frighteningly cornered. Maybe Sam was being cautious, or, perhaps, he had seen through the Spirit's attempt at imitating Yugi. He mentally kicked himself for not playing his role more convincingly. He wished Yugi would wake up.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it now. He couldn't very well run away, which would take Yugi away from his family, and might even put the young one in further danger. Likewise, Yami wished no harm on the Winchester brothers. They did not deserve a Dark Game. They were only trying to protect Yugi, not hurt him.

He'd be lying to himself, however, if he pretended that he wasn't afraid of what they might try to do should they discover his existence. Worse, he feared what they might do if they discovered his ties to the Millennium Puzzle.

Yami did not want to return to the darkness he had known before. The very idea clawed at his heart with an icy grasp. It left him feeling suddenly very drained.

Reluctantly, the Spirit followed the brothers back to their car with a pit in his stomach.

* * *

Yugi awoke to the surreal feeling that he was floating. He hurt, but it was a far-away kind of pain. _The Pharaoh must be in control right now,_ he thought to himself.

Something was wrong. He could sense his partner through their link. Yami was worried, perhaps even frightened. His spirit was knotted and tense as if he were tied in knots. Yugi reached out to the other soul, trying to soothe him.

 _ **/You are awake, thank the gods./**_ Yami sounded tired, exhaustion radiating from his spirit. _**/Are you feeling well enough to take over?/**_

 _/Yeah, I am./_

Yami relinquished control to Yugi, nonverbally sighing in relief as he did so. The ancient Spirit retreated to the back of Yugi's mind, lingering there so as to advise Yugi on what he had missed.

Yugi took control of his body, gasping a little as he took on the full burden of his injuries. His head ached fiercely now and he was sore from the various bruises he received as the demoness hurled him against the brick alley wall. The teenager found himself sitting in the backseat of the Impala, slumped heavily against the door. He opened his eyes slightly, finding Sam and Dean sitting quietly in the front seat. Everything was unusually quiet. Looking to his right, Yugi saw the young woman who had attacked him earlier. She was unconscious and laying over on her side across the backseat, her head propped up with his jacket.

Yugi gently massaged his tender neck. /Ouch. _Say, why am I wet?/_ His shirt was damp and uncomfortable. Part of him considered taking the thing off to escape the moisture.

 _ **/Sam thought you might be possessed. He sprayed holy water on me. It didn't do anything, of course. I'm assuming that only works on demons./**_

The Spirit summed up the events Yugi had missed as well and as quickly as he could. He briefly described the Shadow Game, the demon's defeat, and being discovered by Sam and Dean. _**/They seemed to be satisfied by the holy water test for the moment but I'm not sure, Yugi. I think they suspect something. They're too observant. The way they looked at me…/**_ Yami's words trailed off as he replayed Sam's distrustful expression over in his head so Yugi could see.

Yugi cursed under his breath. The reason for Yami's thinly veiled anxiety was apparent now. If his cousins had noticed the other soul existing within him, even without understanding what they were seeing, they wouldn't let it be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or Yugioh!**

 **Chapter 13**

"I hate to break to you two, but I'm pretty sure the kid doesn't have a demon in him."

Bobby, Sam, and Dean were sitting around the kitchen table in Bobby's home. It had been two days since the incident involving the demon and, during that time, Sam and Dean had attempted everything they could think of to draw out whatever might be inside of Yugi.

Dean had gone so far as to trick the teenager into walking over a Devil's Snare he'd drawn on the floor in Bobby's office and hidden neatly beneath an old rug. Yugi did not seem to notice and was mostly curious as to why his cousin had called him away from the book he'd been contentedly reading. Dean's mumbled excuse had earned him a bewildered and mildly concerned look from Yugi, who strongly suggested that Dean needed to take a nap.

"You're acting really weird." Yugi had said as he wondered aimlessly back to his room and shut the door behind him.

The demon trap hadn't phased Yugi even slightly. It was becoming obvious to the Winchester brothers that there was not, in fact, a demon possessing their cousin. However, they had become more and more suspicious that something was going on with the soft-spoken teen. He had clearly withdrawn from them since the incident with the demon in the city. Yugi no longer sought out his cousins to play games and seemed to be avoiding them along with everyone else in the household. In fact, he spent most of his time wandering around the junkyard or holed-up in his room.

Unable to come to a conclusion on their own, the brothers waited until Yugi and his immediate family were out for a brief trip to the grocery store to bring the question before their mentor, Bobby.

"I won't deny that something strange is going on, though," Bobby continued.

"Yeah, but, Bobby, we haven't been able to figure out anything. If it's not a demon, then what is it? A spirit?" Sam asked.

Bobby fixed Sam with a thoughtful stare, "I'm way ahead of you." He sighed and continued, "I've been doing some research on that Puzzle of Yugi's, and I've contacted a few friends who I thought might be able to help. Info is pretty limited, but I've been looking into Yugi and that Puzzle for the past week and I've turned up some things. Most of it doesn't make sense. It's something called The Millennium Puzzle, first of all, and it's supposed to be impossible to solve. Sugoroku said Yugi solved it two years ago."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances but said nothing, waiting for Bobby to continue with what he had learned thus far.

The older man sighed again and shook his head. "The damn thing's supposed to be cursed and there are more of these Millennium Items. From what I can tell, they've been at the root of more than a few troubles through the years. That last tournament Yugi won had reports of all kinds of crazy shit going on and Yugi was at the middle of it all."

"When you say it's cursed, do you mean like the Mummy's Curse kind of deal? It looks Egyptian." Dean raised an eyebrow. He'd seen cursed objects plenty of times but, other than some mood swings, Yugi didn't seem to be suffering from the typical curse symptoms and he'd had the thing in his possession for a long time.

"Oh, it is definitely Egyptian. One of my contacts was able to tell me more about the items and, boys, it's just plain disturbing. There are…rumors…that some of the items have human souls, or worse, locked in them. Something about a battle long ago and some obscure Ancient Darkness. Maybe it's all nonsense. Melly and Sugoroku didn't seem to think anything was wrong with Yugi, but, I swear, sometimes there's this look in his eyes…" Bobby let his words trail off, unable to express his meaning in words.

"So, wait," Sam interjected, "Are you saying there might be some kind of Ancient Egyptian…spirit? In this Millennium Puzzle thing? Could it be possessing Yugi? How would a spirit even get in the house with the kinds of wards we have up?"

"I don't know, but, from what I've been able to dig up, that Puzzle belonged to some kind of sorcerer. Egyptian magic is potent stuff, boys. If I'm right about this, we have our work cut out for us."

"There's no way I'm letting some Ancient Egyptian asshole control Yugi!" Dean declared, anger flaring at the possibility that Yugi might be in trouble.

Bobby nodded in agreement, "I hear you, and I'm with you. I have an idea, but we can't run into this half-cocked. I need you boys to stay calm. We have some homework to do. Figuring out what is going on is half the battle. Now we have to figure out how to stop it."

* * *

It had been four days since the encounter with the demon and Yugi was bored out of his mind. The Pharaoh had been listless and quiet for days, attempting to hide his presence as deeply as possible and dreading what might soon come to pass.

Yugi had mostly stayed in his room, avoiding his cousins, Bobby, and his mother. It felt like a gulf stood between them now. Something in the way the Hunters looked at him now made him certain that they were onto him. They might not realize the details yet, but their eyes told a tale of thinly-veiled suspicion. They were smart. It was only a matter of time before they did something that might be more harmful to him or Yami.

He missed them, too. Though Yugi hadn't realized it, he craved the sense of comradery that family can bring. The teen had thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his cousins, playing games, and hanging out. Other than Yami, Yugi never had anything like siblings or cousins to bond with. Now, however, he felt completely alienated from them. How could they ever understand?

He sighed and pulled his phone out, responding to a few messages from his friends and then playing a mind-numbing puzzle game to pass the time. The days were becoming excruciating.

Yugi had broached the topic of leaving to Yami soon after the incident in Sioux Falls, but the older soul had discouraged the idea vehemently. He couldn't just leave his family and the demon that was after them was still out there, after all.

 _/But Yami, you drove the other demon away! I am sure we'll be okay./_

 _ **/Yes, Yugi, I did, but she also hurt you before I had a chance to respond. Who knows how many of them there are or what powers they possess? I would not see you risk yourself in that way, simply to avoid a potential conflict with your family. This is still the safest place for you for the moment./**_

Yami seemed so certain of that, but Yugi couldn't fully agree. Who knew how far Sam and Dean might go to destroy what they believed to be a supernatural threat?

They'd already tried several times, Yugi knew, to do something to him. Yami had been able to easily identify their Devil's Snare. Naturally, it hadn't had an impact on the Spirit, but he sensed the powerful binding magics at work. Currently, they seemed hung up on trapping the wrong kind of entity. Yugi didn't want to think about what might happen if they started hunting for the correct thing.

Yami was strong and seemed mostly impervious to the methods one would employ to deal with Spirits. By the usual standards, the Pharaoh shouldn't have been able to set foot inside of Bobby's house with its wards and protective magics. Those spells, however, did not cause Yami to bat so much as an eyelash, and he had even placed a few of his own charms on the place to protect it. Some of the old Egyptian spells to ward off dark entities still echoed in his mind and he believed in being as careful as possible when it came to Yugi's safety.

Bobby was exhausted. He'd barely slept the past few nights as he searched feverishly for information on the Millennium Items. The middle-aged Hunter called every contact he could think of who might have even an inkling of information on the Millennium Items or Egyptian magic. It was tiring work, but they were making progress.

Sam had been busily researching Yugi on the internet and was finding some disturbing bits of information about the teen. He watched dozens of videos of Yugi's duels, read multiple articles about him and his dueling tactics, and scoured fan forums and discussions. Individually, none of what he found would have been alarming.

However, Sam was quickly overwhelmed with the evidence. Articles spoke of the young duelist's cool and confident dueling personality and the videos Sam found made him all but certain. It was becoming painfully obvious that Yugi, their kindhearted and gentle cousin, changed drastically when he dueled. Sam barely recognized the young man in the videos, smirking confidently at his opponents and never faltering. His voice was deeper, somehow, and the periodic stutter that Yugi sometimes exhibited was never present. His eyes held the same fierceness that Sam had observed in the alley a few days before and his stomach dropped when he zoomed in on one of the shots to find that Yugi's eyes were a startling shade of crimson.

Everything about Yugi seemed changed. It was astounding that a person could be so completely different from one moment to the next. Unless Yugi had some form of multiple personality disorder, there weren't many explanations remaining. Yugi wasn't always just Yugi.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh! or Supernatural. This is a work of fanfiction.**

 **Side note: I know that Chapter 13 was a little short, however, the reason for that is because I was already working on Chapter 14 and some of what was originally going to be Chapter 13 content ended up in Chapter 14 for reasons. Hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for the shortness of the last.**

 **Also, for the ritual used in this chapter, well, I made the whole thing up. It wasn't easy to actually explain why the things that happen are actually happened but I hope it comes across as plausible and not completely ludicrous by the standards of, you know, Yugioh! and Supernatural.**

 **If you notice typos, let me know.**

 **Chapter 14**

Sam and Dean had explained to Bobby about the strange shadow wall they saw the day the demon attacked. After a significant amount of research, Bobby turned up more information on Egyptian magic and multiple references to something called Shadow Magic. It was a dark and old magic, and the Millennium Items granted their users access to this rare and dangerous power. Perhaps that could explain the frightful barrier Sam and Dean encountered. Maybe it hadn't had anything to do with the demon at all. It was more likely, they realized, that the Millennium Puzzle had been behind the strange anomoly.

They would need Melanie's help to pull this off without alarming Yugi to their plan. They weren't sure of how aware Yugi was of the power of the Millennium Puzzle, but considering how long Yugi had owned the item, there was good reason to believe that he knew at least something. Why did he keep it? What hold did the Puzzle have on Yugi?

They'd have to break it's hold somehow. It was obviously controlling Yugi. The Winchesters and Bobby couldn't allow that to go on.

Fortunately, Bobby had a plan.

* * *

They waited two more days to put that plan into action. The binding ritual was difficult to complete, requiring several obscure and rare ingredients and the proper incantations in, of course, Ancient Egyptian. The most difficult part was setting the actual binding circle. The idea was like, but far more complicated than, the Devil's Snare they'd so often used to hold Demons. This time, however, the hieroglyphics and incantations were even more intricate and specifically aimed at holding Spirits and countering Shadow Magic. The hieroglyphs took the longest, as each one had to be exactly right. Bobby had to erase chalk marks several times before getting the symbols the way he wanted them.

Bobby wasn't even certain it would work. The spell had come from some abandoned tomb once occupied by a clan of Tomb Keepers. The clan had long since died-out, leaving their secrets to those few who might make use of them. The obscure ritual had passed through the hands of a few different Hunters before Bobby had managed to get a hold of it.

Melanie Mutou had been difficult to convince at first; however, when presented with the information, she had no choice but to participate. She had vowed not to let anything hurt Yugi and she could no longer deny his strange behavior. Melanie prayed that they were mistaken, that everything was fine with her son just as Sugoroku had aways insisted, but, in her heart, she doubted. That doubt was enough to ally her against her son in the hopes of saving him from unknown darkness.

Sugoroku, of course, had not been told of this plan. The old man was no Hunter, and everyone agreed that it would not do his aging heart any good to witness what they would be putting Yugi through. They weren't entirely certain _what_ would happen once Yugi entered the binding circle. It was better that the old man not be around. It hadn't been easy, but Melanie had managed to convince him to run to the market and he grudgingly agreed.

As he left, Melanie steeled herself for what was to come. They were not sure what they were going to encounter today, but, as it concerned her young son, Mrs. Mutou felt her stomach tie itself in knots.

"Yugi?" She called loudly, trying to make her voice even and as normal as possible. "Would you come in the study? I need some help moving this box."Her hands shook as she heard her son bounding down the stairs in his usual, somewhat childlike, way.

As soon as Yugi had entered into the study, ready to assist his mother, Bobby slammed the door shut behind him. Yugi whirled in confusion, not understanding Bobby's sudden and alarming action. Then, as he was focused on Bobby, Sam and Dean swiftly tackled the boy, forcing him to cross into the strange circle in the middle of the room.

The effect was instantaneous. Yugi screamed and his voice seemed to double as he cried out. His amethyst eyes rolled back into his head as seemingly endless tears rolled down his cheeks. The teenager's small body collapsed beneath him and the Millennium Puzzle emitted a furious light.

When the light faded, Yugi was lying unconscious, his body halfway out of the circle, and where he had been standing there was…

Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. In the middle of the Egyptian binding circle stood what appeared to be an older Yugi...except, that wasn't possible. Yugi was lying unconscious on the ground. His mother pulled him the rest of the way out of the circle and cradled his still form in her arms. She wiped the tears from his smooth face, fighting back her own. Her eyes widened and fixed on the too-familiar, and momentarily stunned, entity.

The Spirit that had come from the Puzzle wore traditional Egyptian garb, a long cape hanging from his shoulders.

His skin was deeply tanned and his features were more matured and angular than Yugi's, but it was still a remarkable resemblance. On his head sat a winged crown of gleaming gold and his body was adorned with golden jewelry, marking his high status. It was almost painful to look at him. His form seemed to shine and shimmer before their eyes.

The Spirit's eyes were the same shade of angry crimson that Sam had observed in the alleyway the previous week. His red eyes darted to Yugi lying limply on the floor and a low, rumbling growl emitted from his throat, echoing through the small study. The Pharaoh turned the full force of his wrathful glare on the Hunters now surrounding him.

Yami looked down his nose at the Hunters, fighting to compose his features into a calm mask. "That was an impressive bit of spell work." The Spirit raised his ethereal hand to the barrier and snatched it back as the slight contact made him feel as though his long, thin fingers had been engulfed in flame. He turned back to Bobby, "However, that was foolish. You have toyed with powers you barely understand and hurt Yugi in the process. I cannot abide that." He looked each of them in the eyes, making his displeasure evident. The force of his state was disconcerting.

Dean scoffed and clenched his fists, "Hurt him? As if something like you could care about Yugi. We're going to put you to rest so you can't possess him anymore. We're saving him from you."

The Pharaoh blinked rapidly, his thick lashed brushing his skin. He turned to Dean, regarding him with a withering look. "Yugi wanted to leave days ago. Perhaps I should have listened. I didn't think his own _family_ would risk him harm so recklessly." He shook his head in disgust.

Yami could argue that he and Yugi needed and depended on each other, that their souls were tightly bound together, and that he would never harm Yugi...but he knew it would avail him not. To them, Yami was nothing more than an out-of-place monster and intruder. He could see it in their eyes.

He pressed his lips into a tight line and looked once again toward Yugi, willing him to wake up and fearful of what damage might have been done to the young soul. The pain had been excruciating as the magic forcibly separated them. He had tried to shield Yugi from the shock but had been unable to hold back the assaulting magic. Yami's mind was still swimming from the unceremonious tearing apart of their souls. It reminded him of his first memory. Back then he had found himself flung into darkness and despair, missing an integral part of himself. That same emptiness echoed within him once again.

"Is…is he breathing?" Yami tried to keep his face neutral but a fraction of his fear crept into his voice, causing it to waver ever so slightly. Yugi was so still and quiet. It seemed unnatural and wrong for someone so full of life. The violent magic surrounding Yami kept him from being able to sense Yugi, or anyone else, outside of the circle. It was an uncomfortably isolating – and familiar – sensation.

Melanie looked him in the eyes now and nodded. This spirit was not what she had expected him to be and it took her off guard. She expected to find some sort of vicious monster or the face of an ancient stranger, not the face of her own son. Not the same face that looked so much like her deceased husband in places. The enemy should _look_ like an enemy. He seemed to relax at her response and sighed.

"All right, it's time to start talking. Who are you and why are you possessing Yugi?" Bobby demanded, trying to take charge of the situation. None of them had expected the spirit they were trying to capture to be the young man standing before them. The surprise had briefly disarmed each of them in a way. Had they accidentally torn Yugi's soul from his body? Did the spell backfire? No, this person favored Yugi, but he couldn't actually _be_ Yugi. His presence was too different; more regal and focused. Bobby briefly wondered if Yugi had had an older brother before brushing the thought aside. He'd have known about something like a deceased older brother. Melly didn't have any other children.

Yami tilted his head and brushed one of his golden bangs behind his ear, carefully thinking of how to respond to Bobby's question.

"I do not have a name," he stated quietly. "Yami will serve as a name if you must have one. I exist within the Millennium Puzzle. Judging from the magic you've used to bind me thus, however, I would assume that you are already quite aware of that fact. There is little else I can tell you. This seems to be my truest form. The spells you have cast make it nearly impossible to hide oneself. It really is a remarkable, if dangerous, bit of magic." He was inspecting the back of his hand as though he was intrigued with his form himself.

This was the strangest specter Sam had ever seen. He was so…reasonable and calm. It was almost like talking to a living person, if a living person had a very ancient fashion sense. Yami did not fit the usual description of the vengeful spirit very well. He was too aware of himself. The Spirit was clearly conscious of the fact that he was no longer a living man, as well, which was another rarity among trapped souls and ghosts.

"What's holding you here? Why haven't you passed on like you're supposed to?" Sam asked gently, hoping to earn Yami's trust and, as a result, further information. Sam spoke politely to the Spirit, waiting patiently for his response.

Yami sighed, glancing at Yugi again as he did frequently to make sure the teen was alright. The color had returned to his cheeks, which was a good sign. Yami reached out to Yugi through their shared link by force of habit but could not reach him. The magic separating them was strong. Old.

He turned his attention to Sam, "That is a complicated matter. I, myself, could not give you all of the answers as my own memory is…sealed. I act as a guardian of sorts." The Spirit grew quiet for a moment, a small frown briefly flitting across his tensed features. He bit at his lip absentmindedly.

Yami wavered momentarily, trying to decide whether or not to share more with these men who hunted him and tore him from his brother. He did not…dared not…trust them now. Never in his wildest imaginings did he expect these people to dig up ancient magic strong enough to hold, and hurt, him. He would not entrust any more details than necessary to them concerning what little they had gathered about his – and Yugi's – destiny. They were dangerous.

The younger Winchester was quickly beginning to doubt the plan they had chosen. There was more to this than he had originally suspected. The Spirit seemed sad and concerned for Yugi. He was angry, obviously, for being captured and for the possible harm done to the teenager…but he did not seem malicious. Sam scratched his chin, trying to think of some alternate plan than what they had originally intended. It didn't seem right anymore. This spirit was an anomaly and they needed to understand him before they did something rash.

Dean, unlike Sam, felt nothing but contempt for the spirit standing before them. The ghost had stolen his little cousin's face and, quite possibly, a large chunk of his life over the past few years. That was unforgiveable. Yugi deserved better than to be someone's puppet. The thought enraged Dean further. He wasn't going to stand for it.

The others had all paused, taken in by the familiar face and the story the spirit told, but Dean would have none of it. He strode briskly and purposefully to where Melly knelt on the ground with Yugi, and quickly slipped the Puzzle from around the boy's neck. Yugi stirred and moaned slightly before stilling again. Dean began tossing the ancient Puzzle carelessly into the air, juggling it between his hands. Yami stiffened, his spectral body betraying his distress at the sudden threatening action.

"Dean, wait," Bobby tried to caution him, rethinking their earlier plans himself. The older man wanted to see what Yugi would say to all of this when he woke up. The boy had been out for about ten minutes already. Sam shook his head curtly, trying to signal for Dean to stop. Dean promptly ignored them both.

"You see…Yami, was it? You see, Yami, I don't think you're telling us everything we need to know." Dean began, fixing Yami with an unkind grin.

Yami quirked one eyebrow at the eldest Winchester brother but remained quiet. Of course, he wasn't telling them everything. That would be foolish. He watched Dean carefully as the Hunter tossed the precious artifact heedlessly. The Pharaoh fought the urge to snap at the young man for being so careless with the item that housed his soul, but he refrained, not wanting to fuel the fire he could see growing behind Dean's eyes.

"So, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to need you to tell us the whole truth, or I might have to make some adjustments to your Puzzle." He dangled the Puzzle in front of Yami's eyes, just outside of the circle and his reach. Yami pursed his lips in annoyance.

In the background, Dean heard Yugi groan quietly again, and heard Melanie whisper comfortingly to the teen, but he pushed concern for his cousin to the back of his mind. Yugi would be okay. He needed to stay focused on the spirit before him.

Yami had frozen, but kept his gaze fixed sternly on Yugi's oldest cousin. "I have nothing more to say to you." He spat the words with a defiance and finality that could not be questioned. His authoritative tone made it clear that there would be no argument. Dean had successfully pissed the Spirit off and caused him to shut down any further chances of communication. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's lack of patience and tact, immediately regretting that he had not stopped Dean before he did something stupid.

But Dean wasn't making an empty threat, Sam quickly realized, as his brother held the golden Puzzle up in front of his eyes, admiring it as it gleamed in the dim light. "Have it your way."

Then, and with great force, Dean slammed the Puzzle into the ground. The impact broke several of the pieces away, causing a bright light to flash and die as the Spirit cried out in agony. He wrapped his arms around himself as if trying to hold his being together and sank to the ground on his knees. Yami's vision blurred and he felt his mind slipping and fracturing, his tether to the world having been so suddenly cut. It was as if someone had taken his soul and shattered it with a hammer. He moaned quietly and collapsed onto his side. The binding circle was all that held him together now, and soon that would not be enough.

 _Not again_ , he begged the gods silently.

"Dean! That's not…!" Bobby and Sam began to protest the sudden and brutal action. Dean was acting on emotion, not thinking clearly. Even Melly yelped in surprise and gripped Yugi's hand tightly as she watched pain and fear contort the Spirit's face. He looked so much like her son. Her mother's heart betrayed her and she wanted to reach out to him or to comfort him in some way.

Dean turned on the others with a dangerous glare. "This was the plan from the beginning. I don't see why we should wait. We got it away from Yugi and it's vulnerable. Time for this ghostie to say 'goodbye'."

Yami fought to keep his mind focused on what was happening around him, but Dean and Bobby's arguing voices sounded so far away…and in their place he could hear it: that awful whispering from the Shadows. They cackled in delight at his plight and he had to stifle a whimper as he felt them draw nearer, coiling around his soul.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh! or Supernatural. It's probably for the best.**

 **Chapter 15**

He felt himself slipping away, floating bodiless within a primordial sea of nothingness. Darkness. It was empty and cold and lifeless. He wondered how he came to be banished in such a terrible place. Fear clutched at his heart like a vice. It hurt. He wasn't sure how it hurt but everything hurt. Maybe he should be thankful for the pain. It was the only evidence he had of his own existence.

 _Where am I?_

Was it a place? How could it be a place if there was nothing there? What did he even mean by "a place"? Had he been somewhere before the darkness? Was there more beyond this neverending and empty hell? He thought so. Something tugged at the back of his mind but…gone. The thought slipped through his fingers and he forgot that he'd ever asked the question.

 _Who am I?_

He knew he had to be someone. Probably a "he", whatever that was. How else could he be asking so many questions? He reached for memory to remind him…but he could not find it. He felt it just beyond his reach, but something was in the way...keeping him from remembering whatever it was that wanted him to remember. There were no faces, names, or words. No others. Were there others outside of this place? Had he been with others? He desperately wanted others now. Maybe others could cast some light in this darkness.

 _What is light?_

He wasn't sure. He craved it desperately, though. Maybe light could drive the fear away. Maybe light would give him a reason to continue fighting. He was jealous of those who had light when he had none. Why shouldn't he have light, too?

It was hard to fight, to hold on, especially when he did not know why he needed to fight. His drive to exist was diminishing quickly, and he felt the writhing darkness tighten around him. He would have screamed, but he didn't know what a scream was, and he had no voice besides.

He was nothing. The darkness told him so. It whispered frightful things in his mind and tore pieces of him away like a hungry tiger. He could feel it surging around him, drowning him in its suffocating embrace and trying to snuff him out.

Why did he continue to resist it? It would be so much easier, wouldn't it? It would be easier to simply give up. He could let the Shadows have their way with him. They would take him. He could become Shadow himself and he wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. He wouldn't have to feel anything anymore. It would all be over, finally…after so long.

That last thought confused him. Had he been here a long time? He didn't know. He wasn't even sure that these thoughts were his own. Something in him wanted to keep going. There was something he had to do, he was sure.

He felt warmth.

 _Yami._

A whisper, but not the hissings of the shadows. A voice.

 _Yami, wake up…_

He listened. Yami. What is Yami? The word seemed familiar. It meant something to him.

 _Yami…_

 _Yami…_

"YAMI, WAKE UP!"

* * *

Yugi ached all over. It was physical pain, to be sure, but it was more than that. His heart indescribably hurt. He realized, with a lurch of terror, that something was missing. Or someone.

 _Where is Yami?_ He reached around in his soul, searching for the other presence. He found nothing.

The teenager's eyes shot open. His body felt sluggish and his mind whirled, confusing his senses. The lights were too bright, and he shut his eyes tightly again to block out the assaulting radiance. He could hear people speaking, heatedly, but their words were muffled and distant.

He blinked, trying to clear the spots from his vision. He was lying on the floor and someone was holding him, arms wrapped around his torso protectively. Yugi focused his eyes on the face above him and found his mother there, gazing down at him with concern in her eyes. She whispered gently to him, trying to lull him back to sleep, but he refused. He had to find what he was missing.

"Yami…" Yugi whimpered, his voice little more than a whisper. His mother squeezed his hand reassuringly.

A familiar voice cried out, and Yugi sat up with a start. The sight that met him chilled his very blood. Before him, lying within a menacingly glowing, chalk-drawn circle, was Yugi's closest friend and guardian. The Pharaoh was collapsed onto his side, his eyes shut tightly. His features were distorted with misery and terror; he was shaking and thrashing about desperately. The Spirit's arms were wrapped around himself tightly, as if he hoped that doing so would stop his suffering.

Yugi's cousin, Dean, was standing over the Spirit with a look of sadistic satisfaction and triumph marring his otherwise handsome features. He held the ancient Millennium Puzzle in his hand, treating the artifact with utmost disdain. Yugi quickly took in the state of his prized Puzzle and felt his heart lurch. Most of the Puzzle was still intact, however, several of the pieces were scattered at Dean's feet. He understood the state Yami was presently in, now. The Spirit had told him before, only briefly, of the horrors he encountered when the Puzzle was anything less than whole. This could not continue.

"This was the plan from the beginning," Dean said angrily. "I don't see why we should wait. We got it away from Yugi and it's vulnerable. Time for this ghostie to say, 'goodbye'."

Hot tears stung Yugi's eyes as Dean's words settled in. His mind worked in overtime to try and remember what had brought him to this point and place. He remembered his mother calling him and then a door slamming. Then he remembered…pain; the pain of having a part of his soul ripped away from him in less than a breath.

His mother, Bobby, and his cousins had all tricked him. The people he cared about had deceived him and had hurt his best friend and closest companion. They had hurt him, too, almost as deeply. Yugi felt an uncharacteristic anger surge through him at the realization and he instinctively pulled away from his mother, refusing to look at her or speak to her.

Yugi struggled to his feet, fighting the wave of dizziness and nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. His knees trembled with the effort of supporting his body.

"Stop!" His voice cracked and his throat clenched uncomfortably.

Dean paused, the look of triumph fading from his face, and turned to regard his younger cousin. Sam and Bobby glanced at each other, clearly uneasy at this latest development.

"I'm glad you're awake, kiddo." Sam said, offering Yugi a small smile. Yugi responded with a cold glare, refocusing his attention on Dean. This situation would not be defused so easily.

"What are you doing to Yami?" Yugi's voice sounded almost threatening and shook with barely-controlled rage. None of them had ever seen the boy in such a state.

Dean opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to find the words he needed. He had not expected Yugi to be upset with them. If anything, he had expected gratitude and happiness from the boy for being freed from the control of the Spirit of the Puzzle. Not only did Yugi seem to be well aware of the Spirit's presence, he was trying to protect the creature. The very idea was preposterous.

"We're saving you, Yugi. This spirit has been controlling you for God knows how long." Bobby approached Yugi and gently placed his hand on the boy's thin shoulder. Yugi jerked away from the contact, stepping away from Bobby and edging closer to Dean.

"Saving me?" Yugi laughed bitterly. "You think you're saving me? Do you know what you have done?!" The teen was nearly hysterical now, and tears began to flow from his reddening eyes.

Yugi knelt on the floor to retrieve the pieces of his broken puzzle. A strangled sob escaped his lips as he gathered the pieces. He could see Yami and could tell the Spirit was suffering terribly, but he could not sense him. He didn't remember a time when he'd ever felt so empty...or betrayed. It was as if a great black hole had opened up in his heart and was threatening to engulf the rest of him.

The teen stood, scowling at the oldest Winchester, and clutching his precious Puzzle pieces to his chest. Maybe, if he held them close enough, some of the emptiness he now felt would go away. Yugi could barely stand the hollowness.

"Give me back my Puzzle. Now." Yugi held his hand out, willing it to stop shaking.

"Yuge…" Dean began, uncertainly, "I can't. It's not safe. It's done something to you. You're not thinking straight."

Yugi spoke, louder and with more force this time, emulating Yami's own way of speaking. The tears that had been overflowing earlier were finally stoppered. "You don't know anything, Dean. Give _me_ back _my_ Puzzle."

Each of the Hunters were standing now, and they closed around Yugi cautiousy. He was obviously in a state of distress and not thinking clearly. Perhaps they had caused him more harm than they realized in putting him through this. They needed to restrain him until he could be reasoned with.

 _This was a mistake,_ Sam thought to himself. _The Spirit was right. We shouldn't have been messing with magic we don't know anything about. Yugi was right. We don't know what we're doing. Dean just had to go and break the damn thing._

Dean made no move to return the Puzzle to Yugi. He was still relatively certain that he had been right to do what he had done, even if Yugi didn't understand. This Puzzle was a threat. It wasn't as if Yugi could make him give it back, anyway. The teenager was boiling mad, but he was still just a kid. There were four Hunters in the room and he wasn't exactly a challenge without the Puzzle and whatever magic it held.

Right?

"Yugi, sweetie," Melanie Mutou approached the distressed teen, speaking in her soothing and comforting way. "I know you don't understand, but this is for the best. That Puzzle is dangerous." Secretly, Melanie hoped she was right. If she wasn't, then she had risked her son's health for no good reason. She wasn't sure if she could deal with that.

It was then that Yugi snapped in a way he never expected or experienced before. The teen felt an indescribable power surge through his veins and infiltrate his bones. It seemed to break forth from his small frame with the force of an explosion. Yugi cried out with the unstable and violent release of energy. It burned and bit at him. He could feel it behind his eyelids and under his fingernails.

Bright, pure light engulfed the small room, knocking the four Hunters back with a frightening ferocity. Dean's grip on the Puzzle loosened and he dropped it as his body was sent hurtling backwards into one of Bobby's large bookcases. Books fell from the overstuffed shelves, sending paper scattering to the wooden floors. Sam and Bobby toppled backwards over the thick Cherrywood desk behind them. Bobby crashed into a wooden chair, causing it to splinter and break beneath his weight.

Melanie was hurled to the ground, the air knocked out of her lungs by the sudden force. She groaned and went silent.

When it stopped, Yugi found himself to be the last man standing. There was little time, however, to consider what had happened. He had to save Yami…and he had to escape. Quickly, Yugi snatched his Puzzle up from the ground and frantically snapped the loosened pieces back into their proper place.

"Yami!" he called, though the Spirit did not stir.

The diminutive teen hurriedly used his feet and hands to scratch out and blur the ominous hieroglyphic markings surrounding his friend, calling out to the Spirit with more urgency and shaking him roughly. Though Yami was a spirit and had no body of his own, Yugi was able to still interact with him physically at times, and the magic of the circle seemed to have given Yami's form more stability and substance for the moment. Yugi barely comprehended that Yami now looked the part of the Egyptian king.

At some point in the few minutes since Yugi had awakened, Yami had stilled, ceasing his tossing and turning. His eyes were now open, staring into nothingness. The Spirit seemed far away and faint, somehow, and Yugi felt a chill run up his spine. Yami felt so…dead.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Supernatural. This is a work of fanfiction.**

 **Sidenote: I want to thank everyone for the great reviews! I'm really glad to see that there are people that have gotten really interested in the story I'm writing. Reviews are a major source of motivation for me and, I think, for most writers. I get excited every time I see that I have a new review so thank you!**

 **Chapter 16**

* * *

Yugi was in a full panic. He had reassembled the Millennium Puzzle, had broken the binding circle, but still the Spirit did not stir. Yami did not move and his eyes remained blank and staring into nothingness. Yami was lost in a deep ocean just out of reach. No amount of calling seemed to be reaching the drowning Spirit. Tears sprang freshly from Yugi's stinging eyes, and his voice cracked with strain and worry.

He listened for a moment to the room around him. The four Hunters did not stir from their downed positions. A single groan from where Sam had toppled backwards over the wooden desk was the only sign that anyone was even alive. Yugi shook his head. They'd be alright. They had to be because they were strong. His other soul, however, was anything but okay.

The short teen grasped Yami's spectral hand in his own and immediately felt as if he were holding ice in his hands. Yami had no memory of a time before he was a Spirit, and Yugi had not known him prior to his death, of course, but that did not mean the Spirit was without life and warmth. That was no longer the case, though. All vitality seemed to have been leeched from the ancient soul, which was alarming considering that Yami had always seemed to have an overabundance of energy. Yugi felt a lump form is his throat. Was this what it was to truly die? It was too cruel a fate to consider. Yugi's stomach turned and knotted within him.

He pulled Yami's semi-transparent form into his arms, rocking the other soul gently and clinging to him with a new desperation. If Yami's spirit form was still here and tangible, then there had to be some way to reach him wherever his mind had gone.

"Please, Yami. Don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone again," Yugi sobbed.

In a place that was nowhere and existed outside of time, the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle felt a tug at his heart. Something he couldn't quite remember was pulling on him, calling for him. He felt a soft light wrap protectively around him, coaxing him gently back to a different place. The darkness around him hissed and surged forward in a final effort to retain its prize, only to be violently repelled by a bright and pure light.

Yami felt his mind clearing as the grasp of the Shadows loosened from him. The dense fog seemed to lift from his thoughts and he became aware, for what felt like the first time, of sensations beyond pain. It was like being able to breathe again and pieces of memories floated back into his dazed consciousness.

Somewhere nearby, a small voice was whispering. A word. "Yami."

A name.

His name. With a jolt, the Spirit remembered. It was his own name, or at least the closest thing he had to a name, that he heard. The voice was right beside him now and weeping pitifully. Yami wanted to reach out and offer comfort to the gentle voice that had called him back. He wanted to stop the sobs echoing around him.

Slowly, with some effort, Yami opened his eyes, letting himself emerge from his dreamlike state. It was difficult. He felt heavy and exhausted; the Shadows had left him drained of his strength.

Over his head, Yami could see a face and it was familiar, framed in golden bangs. The teenage boy was still hugging the Spirit firmly, sniffling and crying. Yami sensed great anguish from the young soul and was grieved to find that these tears were shed because of him. He tried to speak but struggled to form the words. Yugi, with his eyes fixed firmly shut, did not notice as crimson eyes blinked in silent frustration, their owner grappling with his own fatigue.

Yami mustered the remainder of his strength to whisper one name. His voice was raspy and quiet, but it finally obeyed to form the word he sought.

"Yugi."

Yugi froze, taking several seconds to raise his bowed head. He blinked the tears from his eyes and found a set of red eyes gazing back at him, waiting patiently.

"Yami?" Yugi murmured. Yami's eyes softened and he offered a weak smile in response. His form shuddered and faded away as the Spirit, having been freed from the binding magic, retreated into the Puzzle. Yugi was once again flooded with the sense of balance and completion brought by having his soul merged with the Pharaoh's. He sighed in relief at the full feeling in his heart.

Yugi could feel an unusual faintness from the Spirit. It worried the diminutive teen, but he would have to help Yami sort himself out later and hoped that the return to the Puzzle would be enough to help Yami recover. Right now, Yugi realized with a lurch, they needed to get out of Bobby's house and as far away from the Hunters as possible. The Spirit of the Puzzle was already in bad shape. For the first time, Yugi would have to be the one to protect Yami. He couldn't risk another encounter with the Egyptian magic Bobby had somehow dug up.

Besides, Yugi certainly did not want to experience the same feeling of having his other soul ripped from him again.

He did need to check on everyone first, however.

Yugi stood with purpose, and quickly closed the distance between himself and his mother, who was lying unconscious on the floor. Rapidly, the boy checked her breathing and, seeing that she was mostly fine beyond a few bruises, made his way to each of the other Hunters. They were beaten up, but no one seemed to be in any danger from their injuries. The burst of energy that had escaped him later did not seem to have done any permanent damage, and for that he was grateful. It would have to be enough to know that he had not caused them serious harm.

Quietly, Yugi pulled the door to the study shut behind him and pushed a nearby storage chest in front of the it, blocking it just to be safe. It wouldn't hold the four inside for long if they woke up. Sam and Dean could probably force their way through it pretty quickly, but he hoped the barrier might slow them down if they recovered before he made his escape.

He took the stairs two at a time, bounding up them with unusual urgency. The teen swung his bedroom door open and retrieved his navy-blue duffle bag from its place in the small guest closet, swiftly repacking the few items and clothes strewn about the room. Fortunately, he hadn't bothered to exactly unpack most of his things. He checked his back pocket, finding his wallet as expected. Yugi didn't have a lot of cash on him but he'd have to make it work. He could always use his bank card if he found an ATM somewhere in town. He silently thanked his grandpa for putting his earnings from tournaments safely in the bank. He would need that money now if his plan was going to work.

 _ **/God Cards.../**_ Yami mumbled tiredly from the back of Yugi's mind, not wanting the boy to forget them in his haste. Yugi nodded and retrieved the box that had formerly held the Puzzle from the bedside table, quickly checking to make certain his most powerful cards were still inside. He tucked the golden box snuggly into his bag.

If he could just get back to Domino, everything would be fine.

 _ **/Toothbrush…/**_ Yami gently reminded Yugi once more, this time inciting a small smile from the boy. Yugi was sure to grab his toothbrush from the bathroom as he all but ran by.

Within minutes, Yugi was back at the base of the stairs. He wondered briefly when grandpa would get back, but he knew with a twinge of guilt that he could not wait for the old man. Grandpa would probably try to stop him from going, and he didn't see that he had much choice at this time. The teenager made a mental note to text grandpa as soon as he was far enough away.

A set of keys, belonging to Bobby, hung by the front door. Yugi felt guilty for what he knew he needed to do and offered a silent apology to the old Hunter who had taken him and his family in. He swiped the keys from their resting place and, with one final look over his shoulder, Yugi Mutou vanished from the farmhouse.

* * *

Sam's head was pounding, and he groaned in discomfort. The youngest Winchester found himself splayed uncomfortably on the study's hardwood floors. Books and other items were strewn about him in a chaotic mess. He slowly sat up, trying to recall what had happened. He spotted Bobby a few feet away, lying on top of the crumpled remains of an antique chair.

He gasped. Yugi! How could the small teen have created such destruction? The boy had overpowered them all with ease. Sam pulled himself up to his knees, searching the room for any sign of the boy. Yugi was gone. The Puzzle was gone, and the binding circle was scratched out and blurred. The Spirit that called itself Yami was nowhere to be found. Yugi must have freed him.

Sam nudged Bobby roughly, and the elder man groaned his resistance to waking.

Bobby would hurt like a son-of-a-bitch in the morning, he was certain. His body was getting a little too old to hold up to this kind of abuse and he mumbled something about respecting your elders as he dragged his stiff form up from the ground. His study was in absolute ruins, he noted with a huff.

Sam called out to Melanie and Dean, standing unsteadily. He stumbled to Dean's side as Bobby half-crawled to Melanie. Despite the power of whatever it was Yugi had unleashed, no one seemed to be badly injured, which was just short of miraculous. It was a testament to Yugi's gentle nature, Sam thought, that none of them had suffered worse than bruises. He wasn't sure why everyone had blacked out, though. There had been a bright light and an unbelievable force exploded forth from Yugi's undersized frame, and then... nothing. The mysteries surrounding Yugi were only increasing as they searched for answers.

* * *

Sugoroku Mutou returned home after a few hours in town to find the house oddly quiet. He had sensed that something was wrong even before he got out of the minivan Bobby lent him.

The elderly man entered the home, laying the keys on the small table by the entrance. The house was unnervingly still, except for the sound of quiet murmurings in the kitchen. Sure enough, Melanie, Sam, Dean, and Bobby were sitting around the kitchen table. Bobby was patting Melanie's back gently and she wept into his shoulder.

"Melanie, my dear. What on earth happened?" Sugoroku asked with concern thick in his voice. He sat the grocery bags down on the bar and strode across the kitched to Melanie's side with as much speed as his aging joints could manage.

Fresh tears fell from her swollen eyes, and she opened her mouth to speak only to sob incoherently. Grandpa Mutou was beginning to feel his panic building now. It was obvious that something terrible had happened in the brief time he had been away. He looked around in confusion, noting the obvious absence of one very important member of the group.

"Where is Yugi?"

A heavy silence settled on the room. Sugoroku looked from one face to the next, only to find that the Hunters averted their eyes rather than meet the old man's questioning gaze. He knew then that Yugi was gone.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh! or Supernatural.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

Sugoroku had waited patiently as Sam, Dean, and Bobby recounted the entire story to him. They told him of their suspicions about Yugi's behavior and how they researched Yugi's Puzzle for days. He raised his eyebrows in slight interest as they let him in on the secret of the Egyptian magic they used to bind the Spirit of the Puzzle, but the old man barely batted an eyelash as they told him about the strange Spirit that favored Yugi.

That made Melanie wonder. She studied her father-in-law, glad to have something to distract her from the terrible mistakes she had made. She knew for certain, now. They'd made a mistake in confronting Yugi and the Spirit in the Puzzle. There were so many mistakes. It seemed like no matter what choices she made, she somehow managed to fumble. Her decisions had already cost her her husband and now, it seemed, they would cost her son as well.

The elder Mutou waited until his monster-fighting companions finished the entire tale, right up to the point when they discovered Yugi had run off, escaping and trapping them in the study for a short time. Sugoroku stood up from his seat at the kitchen table and stared pensively out the small kitchen window.

"He took my truck, too." Bobby added, wearily. This day had gotten completely out of hand in ways he'd never imagined. One of these days, he thought to himself, he'd learn to let things well enough alone. He was getting to old for this shit.

Sugoroku closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. The elderly gamer gently massaged the bridge of his nose, hoping to head off the developing migraine. He felt his anger building with each new detail. He never should have left. He should have known that the Hunters wouldn't let well enough alone. Now his grandson was gone.

"Of course, he ran away," the old man stated quietly. "What did you really think would happen?"

Sam looked down at his feet guiltily, recognizing that they had pushed the boy to this point. He knew they had acted too rashly and frightened Yugi instead of talking to the boy about their concerns. Dean, however, was studying Sugoroku with confusion. It almost sounded as if Sugoroku already knew something was going on with Yugi.

"Do you have any idea what you have done? What you might have done to Yugi? Thank whatever gods are out there that Yugi did get away, too, because you could have killed him. Them." The old man shook his head in disgust.

Sugoroku continued his tirade, voice building in volume and essentially halting any efforts by the others to argue or question him. "I shouldn't have trusted you lot, not with my grandson. And you, Melanie. You should be ashamed of yourself. Playing with Egyptian magic you don't know anything about? Unleashing it on Yugi? Not even one of you stopped to think of what it might do to Yugi. You Hunters and your one-track minds! You think you see something out of the ordinary and you chase it like hounds. Your own son!" He glared icily towards Melanie, who sat unmoving and shocked by the sudden outburst from her father-in-law.

The room was quiet for a moment as the four Hunters let what Sugoroku words settle in.

Grandpa Mutou sighed, finally, collapsing back into a kitchen chair, his anger suddenly diminishing and leaving him exhausted. "And this foolish old man…should have done something sooner to protect them. It's my fault."

Bobby was the first to work up the courage to speak now that Mr. Mutou's wrathful rant had ended. "Sugoroku," he began calmly, "You knew."

Grandpa met Bobby's gaze evenly. "Of course, I knew. He's my grandson. I'm the one who found the Puzzle. I'm the one who gave it to him…because he needed it…and he needed the Spirit inside of it, as well, almost as much as the Spirit needs him."

"But, Spirits are dangerous! It's not natural. Why would you just sit by and let your grandson be possessed?!" Dean protested loudly. Sam elbowed him hard in the side, trying and failing to silence his brother.

The old man glared at Dean, anger flashing once again in his amethyst eyes. "Dangerous? Yes, I suppose they can be. If you are an enemy, I imagine the Spirit of the Puzzle is very dangerous. But you...don't know anything about either of them. That Spirit would never hurt Yugi. He's a _part_ of Yugi." Sugoroku tugged at his beard irritably.

"The Spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh has been with Yugi ever since he solved the Puzzle. In many ways, they are the same person, even as they are two separate entities. They _need_ each other for balance. They're partners." Grandpa glanced from one face to the other but saw only confusion there. He would need to find some other way to explain.

Melanie stared at him carefully, considering each word as it pertained to her son. It sounded so ridiculous. How could an ancient Spirit be a part of her sixteen-year-old son? It was madness. Nonsense. Yet, Sugoroku's words held conviction. He was not lying. At the very least, he believed what he was saying. Additionally, the Spirit had looked so much like her son that it was uncanny. It had almost been like looking at Yugi five years down the road, with some obvious differences such as his ancient garb.

She wasn't sure she could accept any of this as reality. Surely this was all a bad dream.

Bobby paled, "You don't mean _The_ Nameless Pharaoh? The one who the writings say…"

"Saved the world from the ultimate Darkness? The very same. I know it doesn't make sense, but only Yugi could have solved that Puzzle. It was Yugi's destiny, and responsibility…because Yugi is a part of the Pharaoh just as the Pharaoh is a part of him." Sugoroku ran a hand through his grey hair, a tone of pleading leaking into his voice, "I do not pretend to know all of the answers, but this is not something you can interfere in. Trying to separate them when they're so tightly bound together…we're lucky Yugi…" The old man's voice caught in his throat and Sugoroku fell silent.

"So, when you said that we could have killed Yugi," Sam began, the wheels in his head turning quickly, "you were serious." He sent a meaningful glance in Dean's direction. Dean had enough decency to look momentarily stricken at the news, though he quickly replaced his mask of indifference.

Dean had certainly never intended to hurt Yugi. He cared about his cousin and wanted to free him. His actions, at the time, seemed right, and had been so easy to justify with his past experiences. He had been so sure that a terrible monster was controlling Yugi. A Spirit possessing Yugi could never be a good thing, and yet, the boy had run away and had fought them for the Puzzle that seemingly controlled him.

This was unlike anything Dean had ever heard of before. He had been so sure he had seen it all until he met his little cousin.

He wasn't even sure any of this was possible. It shouldn't _be_ possible. Dean looked down at his hands in shame. He hadn't meant to cause harm, but he had, and he'd been too stubborn to stop and think before he charged ahead. Every instinct had told him to move forward with the plan.

If they were ever able to find Yugi, the boy probably wouldn't want to speak to him again. Yugi had been so hurt, so frightened, and not by the Spirit, but by Dean. Of course, all of this was assuming that the demons out there didn't get to Yugi first.

The eldest Winchester brother opened his mouth to speak for the first time in a long time, "Alright, we screwed up. We get it. I…but that's not what matters most now. Yugi's out there and, Spirit or no Spirit, there are demons on his tail. Who knows how long it will take them to find him. We need to get to him before it's too late."

Sugoroku nodded thoughtfully. "The good news is this: The Pharaoh is a guardian and protector. He will fight, tooth and nail, to protect Yugi from harm. I wouldn't want to be a demon, or anyone else, going up against the Spirit when he's angry." A small frown crossed the elderly man's features, "However, we don't know what their condition is. We will have to put our trust in the Pharaoh for the time being."

* * *

Yugi threw his bag on the lumpy bed and sat down heavily beside it. Every inch of his body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for hours. The teen rubbed the back of his tired neck, finding little relief in the action. The pain was far too deep.

The Pharaoh was spent, too, Yugi could tell. The Spirit barely spoke and Yugi could only just sense his presence. They would be in trouble if they were attacked now, whether the attack came from Hunters, demons, or any other enemy.

Yugi looked around the dingy hotel room and exhaled slowly. He didn't think that his family would be likely to find him here of all places. He'd driven the old truck into Sioux Falls a couple of hours earlier, fighting to stay awake the entire time. It took the effort of both souls to keep from crashing into a ditch. As soon as Yugi had noticed a bus station, he'd abandoned Bobby's vehicle in a parking lot, leaving the keys in the glove compartment. He hoped that Bobby would forgive him for taking it and would be able to find it without much trouble.

Luckily, Yugi found an ATM outside of a small convenience store near the corner bus station. He withdrew as much as he dared, anxious to be carrying a large amount of cash on him. Looking around, he noted that this was probably not the best part of town. He pulled his hood over his wild hair, hoping to disguise his identity as much as possible.

Yugi rode the bus for a good hour, hoping to throw anyone that might have been following his progress. No one had gotten on the bus with him, so he felt like the passengers, at least, were not a threat. The teen pulled his hoodie tightly around him. He didn't sense anything ominous around him, but he couldn't be certain. He was so tired, and the Spirit was barely awake.

As he rode, he took a moment to send a quick text to his grandfather, letting him know he was alright but wouldn't be returning to Bobby's home. He assumed that gramps would have arrived home to hear the story by now. Once the text was sent, Yugi sent a few more texts to his friends in Domino, letting them know that he planned to be home tomorrow. Then, he shut his phone off, just in case. He did not want to be tracked.

Yugi rode the bus close to the airport and was relieved to find an obscure, if questionable, hotel nearby. With any luck, he'd be back in Domino by tomorrow.

The room was small and in need of a good cleaning. The yellowed wallpaper pealed in places and the scent of cigarette smoke was thick in the air. Yugi knew it would cling to his clothes and hair for days. It didn't matter, though. He wouldn't be here long. At least it was shelter and a bed.

 _ **/Yugi…/**_ Yami whispered, _**/We must secure the room. I don't think I can…/**_ Yami faltered and Yugi could feel his consciousness slipping. They both needed rest. The Spirit could barely communicate at this point and didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as Yugi had hoped. Briefly, Yugi wondered if Yami was struggling to recover because Yugi's own body was drained.

He thought back to what Sam and Dean told him about fighting and repelling demons. Yugi didn't think he'd be able to make one of those demon traps. He and Yami had only seen it once, for a short time, and neither of them had the energy or the tools to try and recreate it anyway. They didn't have holy water, either, and Yami was too weak to cast any of his warding spells. The magic of the Puzzle would offer some protection, but they needed more than that. He wasn't sure how well the Puzzle would work with Yami in his weakened state. The situation was looking increasingly desperate.

That left only salt in their arsenal. Yugi wished he had thought of that before he left Bobby's house. Shaking his head, he stood, groaning slightly, and left his room, closing the door quietly behind him. Thankfully, he had requested a ground floor room. Stairs sounded terrible, and the elevator looked shady as hell.

Moving as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention to himself, Yugi made his way down the hallway and to the small, mostly deserted lobby. There had been an advertisement for free breakfast when he signed in. It was far too late for the continental breakfast by now, of course, but the abandoned dining area still should have what he needed.

Yugi searched a few cabinets and thanked his luck when his eyes finally fell on a set of empty salt shakers, presumably for the dining tables, and a large container of salt. He wondered vaguely if the stuff had to be kosher but dismissed the thought with a shrug. It would have to do regardless. The boy snatched up the container, which was still mostly full, and quietly eased his way back to his hotel room.

Back in his room, Yugi took the container of salt and spread it at the base of the window and doorframe in the way that Sam and Dean had described. It didn't really look like much of a barrier to him, but he supposed his older cousins had more than proven what they were capable of. He shuddered at the recent memory of just how dangerous the Winchesters could be.

Finally, Yugi threw himself on the bed, letting his tired body sink into the mattress with a sigh. He didn't bother to pull the covers back and, within moments, he slipped into unconsciousness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Supernatural.**

 **To the readers: I apologize in advance for taking several weeks to update. I do not promise and update schedule, but I had intended to have something up before now. I have had a wild few weeks, and experienced a bit of writer's block. I have an idea of where I'm taking the story, of course, but there are some parts that I've struggled with.**

 **To those of you who have reviewed my story, I just want you to know I value your feedback and love reading your reviews. They're very motivational. I probably wouldn't continue writing if I did not know that there are people who are enjoying reading what I've written, so props to you guys!**

 **Bananarock509: I don't think I could ever do that. Don't worry, Yami and Yugi will be remaining separate entities and no one is going to the afterlife on my watch. I cried when he left in the show so I'm just not about that life.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

"He can't have gotten very far."

After the morning's incident, Melanie and Sugoroku Mutou, the Winchester brothers, and Bobby, had all set out in a desperate effort to locate and return Yugi home. Their efforts had finally brought them to a semi-abandoned parking lot on the edge of town, where they found Bobby's old truck, complete with the keys.

Yugi had proven clever, leading them only far enough that they could recover the truck and then disappearing off the map. After making a large withdrawal using a nearby ATM, he had avoided using his bank card so that he would be more difficult to track.

Sioux Falls was a big city. If Yugi didn't want to be found, then he could easily become invisible. They'd asked around, using a photograph of the boy to try and find anyone who might know where he'd gone. Most people hadn't noticed him, though several recognized Yugi as a celebrity and assumed this was a joke of some sort. The group was preparing to give up and begin searching elsewhere when, finally, a young woman's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh! I do think I saw him. He was getting on the bus earlier. He was wearing a hoodie, though. He…didn't look so good." The young woman frowned slightly, trying to recall more details.

"Can you tell me which way he went? Please, he's my son. I'm worried." Melanie Mutou pleaded with the young woman.

The woman met Melanie's eyes and shook her head. "I'm really not sure. I'm so sorry. This bus could take you all over the place." She swept her hands towards the large city around them to emphasize its vastness.

Melanie smiled politely and thanked the young woman, though tears glistened in her eyes as she turned away. Yugi could be anywhere. He'd sent Sugoroku a message, letting the elderly man know he was okay, but it appeared that the teenager had turned his phone off immediately afterwards. No calls got through, and Sam hadn't been able to track the cell phone from then on.

Sam ran his hand through his hair. "Let's just think for a minute. If I were Yugi, where would I be going? Where would I stay?"

Mrs. Mutou shook her head and sighed, "I really don't know where he would go, Sam. He knew not to start using cash, so he'd be harder to find. That bus could take him anywhere, though. He'd need somewhere to stay."

Sugoroku Mutou scratched his chin thoughtfully and glanced around the mostly-abandoned street. "I don't think Yugi would stay around here and longer than he had to," he began.

"No, but we know that already. He got on the bus." Dean shook his head, not understanding the elderly man's point.

Mr. Mutou fixed Dean with a quiet stare. "What I mean, Dean, is that I don't think Yugi would stay in Sioux Falls."

Dean's mouth formed an "oh" though he did not say the words. He looked away, not wanting to meet the old man's gaze.

"You think he'll go back to Domino?" Melanie asked, hopeful.

"Melanie, I think that's exactly what he will do. He has people he can trust there. Since you all have decidedly blown any chance of trust, he'll go to those he knows he can count on."

"We need to get to the airport. Domino isn't safe, either. If he goes back there, who knows what will happen."

* * *

Yugi woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat. He didn't remember what he had been dreaming about, but it had most certainly been a nightmare. Dark images flashed before Yugi's eyes and were gone. He made no effort to call them back.

He grasped for his Puzzle, which still hung at his chest, and blinked the sleep from his eyes. The teen found himself squinting to make out his surroundings in the darkness. This wasn't his room; the bed was too uncomfortable, and everything smelled of smoke. He rubbed his spine, trying to work the knots out of his aching muscles.

After a few moments of reflection, Yugi remembered where he was, and the events of the previous day rushed back to his mind. His heart sank. It had all been very real and very painful. Glancing at the clock, he found that it was still the early hours of the morning, about 4 am. Fortunately, nothing and no one had disturbed him during the night hours. He'd half expected to wake up and find demons bearing down on him.

Yami didn't wake. The Spirit was in a deep sleep, and it would take a great deal of effort to cause him to stir. Yugi decided to let his other soul sleep, knowing that Yami needed the rest after what he'd been through. Yugi toyed with the idea of rolling back over and letting sleep reclaim him, as well, but there was too much to do.

Yugi groaned slightly as he sat up in his bed. The salt he'd spread the previous evening remained undisturbed and the room was still, other than the steady thrumming of the air conditioner. He still needed to get a ticket back to Domino. Yugi figured he would buy one at the airport, of course. He doubted there would be a lot of people traveling from Sioux Falls to Domino, but he still needed to know what time the next flight would take off. He wanted nothing more than to get home and back to a place where the world made sense again. Maybe he could find an early flight.

The diminutive teen found that he had one minor issue. The room phone had no dial tone, and he had no laptop with him to check departure times online. He could use his cellphone, of course, to search up flights, but he was afraid to turn the phone on in case his family decided to track him. It would need to stay off until he was safely on the airplane.

Yugi would need some help. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, hoping to accomplish his goal quickly. He was still on edge and nervous, but he couldn't hide in this room for the rest of his life.

The hotel was quiet, its guests sleeping in the early morning hours. The only people Yugi ran into were tired staff, ready to end their shifts, and one rather intoxicated fellow passed out by the elevator. They paid him no mind.

A stern, middle-aged woman was manning the front desk as Yugi approached. She turned her attention to him, looking mildly surprised to see a guest wandering the halls at this hour.

Yugi shuffled his feet, uncomfortably, but spoke clearly, urgency working to temporarily banish his shyness.

"Excuse me, but I need to find out about flights leaving this morning for Domino City. Can you help me?" He blushed slightly but was proud that he hadn't stumbled over his words.

The woman, whose name was Myrtle according to her name tag, nodded slightly, and turned to her computer, pulling up the airport website. After perusing the flights for a moment, she nodded again and muttered something under her breath.

Myrtle turned to the young man standing in front of the desk, and her mannerism softened somewhat. He looked like he'd been through quite an ordeal, judging from the dark circles under his eyes and the tense set of his jaw. She attempted a comforting smile, which admittedly felt out of place on her usually severe face. Yugi recognized her efforts, however, and offered a tired half-smile in return.

"There are two flights leaving for Domino today, but the earliest one will be at 6:05 am."

Yugi nodded and thanked the receptionist. That wouldn't leave him very much time, really, and he needed to take a shower. He turned on his heel, and speedily returned to his room.

The room was undisturbed, much to Yugi's relief. He was still expecting demons to swoop in at every turn. The fact that he had not been assaulted yet was almost more unnerving than if he had been confronted directly. He wondered what they could be waiting for. Surely, the demons knew where he was. Sam and Dean told him once that it was very difficult to hide from the wicked creatures if they wanted to find you. Bobby's house was supposed to be the only truly guarded place, other than his own home in Domino, so why hadn't they come?

Yugi shuddered. Thinking about this wasn't helping. He needed to get moving right away. If they were watching him, as he expected, then sitting in one place for too long would put him at greater risk. Swiftly, he pulled a clean, albeit rumpled, grey t-shirt and pair of jeans from his duffle bag. Everything else was haphazardly packed in the bag so that he could leave directly after his shower.

He allowed the hot water to soothe his tired body and sighed in relief as the dirt and sweat of the previous day was purged from him skin. His muscles loosened with the heat and Yugi emerged from the shower feeling much refreshed.

Within fifteen minutes, Yugi was dressed and out the door. Some of the bounce had returned to his step with the promise of home, friends, and familiar things. He couldn't wait to put this place behind him.

 _ **/You seem to be in high spirits, young one./**_ Yami noted. Yugi hadn't noticed that the Pharaoh had awoken and started in surprise. The older spirit still seemed weakened, in a way, though that hardly seemed surprising. The small smile returned to his face, swiftly, however, and he laughed under his breath.

 _/I feel better. Don't you?/_

 _ **/I suppose so. I'm still very tired but I will be fine with some time and rest. I am glad your energy seems to be returned./**_

Yugi nodded, glancing around him at the handful of people along the sidewalk and pulled his hood tighter. It was still dark and quite early. There weren't many people, or cars, around and that gave the street an eerie feeling.

 _/I could have done with a few more hours, for sure, but I'll sleep on the flight. We're not out of the woods, yet, though. I'll feel better once we're on the plane. I'm just glad to be going home. I…don't want to leave grandpa here, but he'll be safe with…with them./_

 _ **/He's probably very worried about you./**_

 _/I know, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. I'll call him when we get back to Domino. Right now, we must get somewhere safer. Then we can figure out what to do about everything else./_

Sam and Dean had gotten more than a few suspicious looks as they loitered around the airport terminal in the early hours of the morning. Fortunately, Melanie and Sugoroku looked significantly less threatening and had been able to settle in relatively unnoticed. Bobby remained in his truck and circled the parking lot and surrounding roads in the hopes that he might spot Yugi as he approached the airport.

They were certain Yugi would try to fly home to Domino, probably today, but they didn't know which flight he planned to board or when he'd show up, so they arrived early and waited. If possible, they would convince him to return with them. If not, then this was still their best shot at finding him and confirming that he was safe.

It was their only chance.

Dean doubted that Yugi would return to Bobby's house. If he were in the kid's shoes, he certainly wouldn't go back. Mr. Mutou was right: they'd blown their chance with Yugi when they tried to separate him from the Spirit and the Puzzle. Yugi was kind and forgiving, but he wasn't stupid.

The elder Winchester massaged the bridge of his nose. Sam noticed this and gently patted his brother on the shoulder. He could tell Dean was terribly worried for Yugi, and that he was struggling with his own guilt over the situation.

"It'll work out, Dean. Probably. I think."

Dean smiled wryly, "Who's worried?"

It was just like Dean to pretend nothing was wrong, to the point of disfunction. Sam shook his head in exasperation and began scouring the crowds for the familiar face of his cousin once again.

Had he been paying attention moments before, he'd very likely have noticed as Yugi, having nearly stumbled on top of them, froze in his steps and turned away, ducking into the airport gift shop. He purchased a random, unexciting baseball cap and a few snacks for the trip. It wasn't as if he could walk around an airport with a hoodie on, and his hair drew way too much attention. His cousins were here, and clearly looking for him.

 _ **/You could always try dying it, I suppose,/**_ Yami commented, dispassionately.

 _/It doesn't do any good. I tried that one time and it's still super noticeable, and it grows too fast, so I stopped bothering./_

Quickly, Yugi wove through the crowd and towards his gate. He glanced at his watch and found that he only had a few minutes remaining to board his flight.

"Yugi!"

Melanie Mutou's voice cut through Yugi's thoughts and he stopped, causing at least two people to have to maneuver suddenly around him to avoid slamming into him. One man cursed nastily as he pushed past the teen, though Yugi didn't seem to notice.

He turned stiffly, and found his mother moving hastily through the crowd, Sugoroku hot on her heels. She'd recognized him, of course, even with the hat on. Little disguises like that typically don't fool mothers, even estranged ones. She was still some distance away, however. He could outrun her easily, and his small stature gave him the advantage when it came to escaping into crowds.

 _ **/What will you do?/**_

Yugi glanced down at his watch again. His mother was here, and his grandfather, but he'd also seen his cousins before, though he did not see them now. He couldn't risk running into them now. The fear and pain of the day before was still fresh in his mind.

Yugi turned and began walking towards his gate again, more quickly this time. _/I already know what they are going to say, but remaining here isn't an option, no matter what they say to the contrary. We have to go…so I'm going./_

Yami accepted the decision without argument. Melanie called out to him again, pleading this time, but Yugi gave no indication that he'd heard her, and broke into a run towards his destination. Most people assumed he was late for his flight and did not question the fleeing teenager's urgency.

He was on his flight within what seemed like only a few minutes and breathed a sigh of relief as the plane took off. Soon, very soon, he would be home and everything would be alright.

* * *

"Yugi Mutou has successfully boarded the plane to Domino, master." A tall, dark-haired man bowed as he addressed his superior, his black eyes turned towards the ground.

His superior, a striking dark-skinned, brunette woman, turned, with mild interest, to the speaker. Her own colorless eyes glistened in amusement. "Oh, I thought he might, if he could get away from the Winchesters. This has become quite entertaining, hasn't it, Bartholomew?"

"As you say, master."

She smiled coldly. "Have him tracked when he lands. Wait for my signal. Twice now, the child has evaded my grasp. There can be no mistakes this time."


End file.
